City of Love.....by Rumi

I’ve travelled around
raced through every city
while I knew all along
no place could be found
like the city of love

If I could have known
to value what I owned
I would not have suffered
like a fool
the life of a vagabond

I’ve heard many tunes
all over the globe
all empty
as a kettledrum
except the music of love

it was the sound of
that hollow drum
that made me fall
from the heavens
to this mortal life

i used to soar
among souls
like a heart’s flight
winglessly roaming and
celestially happy

i used to drink
like a flower that drinks
without lips or throat
of the wine that overflows
with laughter and joy

Suddenly
I was summoned by love
to prepare for a journey
to the temple of
suffering

I cried desperately
I begged and pleaded
and shredded my clothes
not to be sent
to this world

Just the way I fear now
going away
to the other world
I was frightened then
to make my descent

Love asked me to go
with no fear to be alone
promising to be close
everywhere I go
closer than my veins

Love threw its spell
its magic and allure
using coyness and charm
I was totally sold and
bought everything with joy

Who am I to resist
love’s many tricks
and not to fall
while the whole world
takes love’s bait

Love showed me
a path but then
lost me on the way
if I could have resisted
I would have found my way

I can show you my friend
surely how you can get there
but here and now
my pen has broken down
before telling you how.

~ Rumi
Art by Rassouli

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. ~ Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

~ Max Ehrmann

My heart is the throne of the Beloved......by Yunus Emre

My heart is the throne of the Beloved,
the Beloved the heart’s destiny:

Whoever breaks another’s heart will find no homecoming
in this world or any other.

The ones who know say very little
while the beasts are always speaking volumes;

One word is enough for one who knows.

If there is any meaning in the holy books, it is this:
Whatever is good for you, grant it to others too

Whoever comes to this earth migrates back;
Whoever drinks the wine of love
understands what I say

Yunus, don’t look down at the world in scorn

Keep your eyes fixed on your Beloved’s face,
then you will not see the bridge
on Judgment Day.

~ Yunus Emre

Why not spread perfume? ~ Rumi

We are all Spiritual beings
having a physical experience.

We are rubies
in the midst of granite.

We are imbued with
resplendent majesty but

We insist on
remaining shriveled
and withered in our prison of dust.

Why not become fresh
from the gentleness of the heart-spring?

Why not laugh…
like a rose?

Why not spread
perfume?

~ Rumi

Beyond love stories.....by Rumi

“Love comes with a knife,
not some shy question,
and not with fears for its reputation.

I say these things disinterestedly.
Accept them in kind.

Love is a madman,
working his wild schemes,
tearing off his clothes,
drinking poison, and now quietly
choosing annihilation.

A tiny spider tries to wrap
an enormous wasp. Think of the spiderweb
woven across the cave where Muhammed slept.

There are love stories,
and there is obliteration into love.

You have been walking the ocean’s edge,
holding up your robes to keep them dry.

You must dive deeper under,
a thousand times deeper.

Love flows down. The ground
submits to the sky and suffers what comes.

Is the ground worse for giving like that?
Do not put blankets over the drum.
Open completely.

Let your spirit ear listen
to the green dome’s passionate murmur.

Let the cords of your robe be untied.
Shiver in this new love
beyond all above and below.

The sun rises,
but which way does the night go?

I have no more words.
Let the soul speak
with the silent articulation of a face.”

~ Rumi,( “Beyond Love Stories”)

Admit something...by Hafiz

Admit something: 

Everyone you see, you say to them, 
“Love me.” 

Of course you do not do this out loud; 
Otherwise,
Someone would call the cops.

Still though, think about this,
This great pull in us
To connect.

Why not become the one
Who lives with a full moon in each eye
That is always saying,

With that sweet moon
Language,

What every other eye in this world
Is dying to
Hear.

~ Hafiz
from The Gift: Poems by Hafiz,
transl. Daniel Ladinsky.

Covers Her Face With Both Hands....by Hafiz

What
We speak
Becomes the house we live in.

Who will want to sleep in your bed
If the roof leaks
Right above
It?

Look what happens when the tongue
Cannot say to kindness,

“I will be your slave.”

The moon
Covers her face with both hands

And can't bear
To look.

~ Hafiz
from Daniel Ladinsky’s book, The Gift: Poems by HAFIZ.

When love beckons to you, follow him...by Kahlil Gibran

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height
and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.

He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire,
that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you
that you may know the secrets of your heart,
and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness
and pass out of love's threshing-floor,

Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh,
but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say,
"God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love,
for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart
and a song of praise upon your lips.

~ Kahlil Gibran
( on Love )

A life without love is a waste. .....Rumi

A life without love is a waste. 

“Should I look for spiritual love, 
or material, or physical love?”, 

don’t ask yourself this question. 

Discrimination
leads to discrimination.

Love doesn’t need any name,
category or definition.

Love is a world itself.

Either you are in,
at the center…

either you are out,
yearning.

~ Rumi
Divan e Shams Tabrizi

Narrow the Difference....by Hafiz

When I play my lute,
The invisible ones call a conference,

And the angels travel far knowing
A rare entertainment will soon take place.

When I play my drum, my notes become so real
The winged ones throw saddles upon them;
An outrageous holy rodeo begins.

No one has ever sat with Hafiz
And not left for the better.

No one can read my poems out loud
In a tender, loving voice
And not narrow the difference,
Not narrow the gap,
Between you and God.

I have many younger brothers and sisters
Scattered upon this earth.

There are always friends of God in this world.
Find one and offer service.
For their glance is generous and cannot help
but forever give.

When Hafiz plays his lute,
My notes ascend into the air and form
Infinite blue crystals

That will move on the wind's breath for hundreds of years
As my sacred debris, as the divine dust
Rising as a gift from my
singing bones.

~ Hafiz
(Narrow the Difference)
The Subject Tonight Is Love
60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz,
Translated by Daniel Ladinsky

The subject tonight is Love....by Hafiz

The subject tonight is Love
And for tomorrow night as well.

As a matter of fact, 
I know of no better topic
For us to discuss

Until we all
Die!

~ Hafiz

Build a House for Men and Birds....by Hafiz

You have taken root in the Beloved
I love your golden branches

And the hundred graceful movements
Your body now makes each time
The wind, children and love
Come near.

Build a house for men and birds.
Sit with them - play music.
For a day, for just one day,
Talk about that which disturbs no one

And bring some peace into your
Beautiful eyes.
Why play notes from your soft mouth-flute
That hurt the Blue Sky's ear?

The Friend has such exquisite taste
That every time you bow to Him
Your mind will become lighter and more
Refined;
Your spirit will prepare its voice to laugh
In an outrageous freedom.

You have taken root in our Beloved.
I love your emerald branches
And the hundred ways your heart does dance
Every time you discover God is so pleased
Because His hands are always playing catch
With your soul.

We all cook together around a fire
Our Yearning music builds.
We share our tools and instruments and plates;
We are companions on this earth
As the sun and planets are in the sky.

We are all sentries at our sacred humble posts.
The stones and stars envy the movements
Of your legs and tongue
And call to you to sing on their behalf.

The atoms in your cells and limbs are full of
wonderful talents;
They dance in the Hidden Choir I conduct.
Don't sleep tonight, dear pilgrim,
So I can lead you on my white mare to His summer
House.

This Love you now have of the Truth
Will never forsake you.

Your joys and sufferings on this arduous path
Are lifting your worn veil like a rising stage
curtain
And will surely reveal your Magnificent Self

So that you can guide this world like Hafiz
In the Hidden Choir
God and His friends will forever
Conduct.

~ Hafiz
(Build a House for Men and Birds)
The Subject Tonight Is Love
60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz,
Translated by Daniel Ladinsky
Art by Will Lewis

How humble is God?...by Kabir

God is the Tree in the forests 
that allows itself to die 
and will not defend itself 
in front of those with the ax, 
not wanting to cause them shame.

And God is the Earth
that will allow itself
to be deformed by man’s tools,
but He cries; yes, God cries,
but only in front of His closest ones.

And a beautiful Animal is being beaten to death,
but nothing can make God break His silence
to the masses
and say,
‘Stop, please stop,
why are you doing this
to Me?’

How humble is God?
Kabir wept
when I
knew.

~ Kabir
From: Love Poems from God: by Daniel Ladinsky.

World needs your broken-open heart....by Belle Heywood

And softly, after a long silence
that went on and on for days,
the Beloved said:

I would secret you,
I would hide you away in the forest
but the world needs you
the world needs to see your broken open heart
and spending your life
hidden in the forest
would be to hide from the world a great gift.

the world needs to see you
even if they don't know they see you
the world needs to be around your broken open heart
and the lack of veils on your eyes

I said to Beloved:
i feel like Mira:
Unable to live on the earth,
Mira ventured out alone in the sky ....

But I turned to the people and said:
i admire all of you who can walk the streets of this world
with your head held up.

all who can take in all the detritis of delusion
with a cheerful smile or even the joy of participation.

is it your wisdom or your ignorance that keeps you in the word, my dear?
for each one of you it will be a different answer and a different story.

I am not of this world,
and each step in it is a painful step through a dream i can't awaken from.

I have retreated from this world since i first went to 'school'.
So shocked by the cruelty and attachment and politics in human hearts,
i sought refuge in the sky and the trees and the Dharma.

My Guru knows only All Pervasive Joy
and invites us all to realization of
No Problem,

when will i wake from this nightmarish experience of all the suffering
in the world and meet my Guru where He is?

Am i being cooked for this union
or am i nowhere near His Pot and wandering far from home?

Maybe I'm going to find the One who is Sad,
I know She or He is sitting somewhere on a Hill -
weeping constantly
howling about this filthy world

I'm going to sit at Her Feet
and let her tears fall on my head.

I'm going to whisper,
yes i know..
and I'm going to thank Her for not
being a Happy Buddha,

I'm going to ask Her what I need to do.
She is widely proclaimed as being Enlightened too-
just as enlightened as those Blissful Ones.

And the Beloved said:
Exactly so, exactly so
and this is why I will not let you hide for your whole life
in the forest or the sky
the world needs your broken-open heart....

~ Belle Heywood

Could you Embrace that ?.....by St Thomas Aquinas

I said to God, ‘Let me love you.’
And he replied, ‘Which part?’
‘All of you, all of you.’ I said.

‘Dear’ God spoke,
‘You are as a mouse 
wanting to impregnate a tiger
who is not even in heat.

It is a feat way
beyond your courage and strength.

You would run from me
if I removed my
mask.’

I said to God again,
‘Beloved I need to love you – every aspect, every pore.’

And this time God said,
‘There is a hideous blemish on my body,
though it is such an infinitesimal part of my Being
could you kiss that if it were revealed?’
‘I will try, Lord, I will try.’

And then God said,
‘That blemish is all the hatred and
cruelty in this
world.’

~ St Thomas Aquinas
( Could you Embrace that ? )From Love Poems from God, by Daniel Ladinsky
Art by Tracie Kaska

Always Kissing by Meister Eckhart

They are always kissing, 
they can’t
control themselves.

It is not possible
that any creature can have greater instincts
and perceptions than the
mature human mind.

God
ripened me.
So I see it is true:
all objects in existence are
wildly in
love.

~ Meister Eckhart
( Always Kissing )

CONSUMED IN GRACE.......by St Catherine of Siena

I first saw God when I was a child, six years of age.
the cheeks of the sun were pale before Him,
and the earth acted as a shy
girl, like me.

Divine light entered my heart from His love
that did never fully wane,

though indeed, dear, I can understand how a person’s 
faith can at time flicker,

for what is the mind to do
with something that becomes the mind’s ruin:
a God that consumes us
in His grace.

I have seen what you want;
it is there,

a Beloved of infinite 
tenderness.

~ St Catherine of Siena
(CONSUMED IN GRACE)
From ‘Love Poems From God‘ by Daniel Ladinsky.
Art by Susan Blanton

The Hope of Loving ...by Meister Eckhart

What keeps us alive, 
what allows us to endure ?

I think it is the hope of loving,
or being loved.

I heard a fable once
about the sun going on a journey
to find its source,
and how the moon wept
without her lover’s
warm gaze.

We weep
when light does not reach
our hearts.

We wither
like fields if someone close
does not rain their
kindness
upon
us.

~ Meister Eckhart
From ‘Love Poems From God‘ by Daniel Ladinsky.
Art by Dorina Costras

Hoping that you will come back to me....by Rumi

Someday our souls will be one and 
our union will be forever.

i know that everything I give you comes back to me.
So I give you my life , hoping that you will come back to me.

When I am silent,
I fall into a place where everything is music

Every leaf that grows will tell you...
What you sow ill bear fruit.
So if you have any sense my friend,
don't plant anything but LOVE

Wake up my heart! The world is passing by;
Life froths and flows by, free for the asking.
Don't sleep in your body, oblivious,
As the caravan of life goes by your house.

Someday our souls will be one and
our union will last forever.

I know that everything I give comes back to me.
So I give you my life, hopping that you will come back to me.

~ Rumi

Fall in love with the agony of love.....by Rumi

In every breath
if you’re the center
of your own desires
you’ll lose the grace
of your beloved

But if in every breath
you blow away
your self claim
the ecstasy of love
will soon arrive

In every breath
if you’re the center
of your own thoughts
the sadness of autumn
will fall on you

But if in every breath
you strip naked
just like a winter
the joy of spring
will grow from within

All your impatience
comes from the push
for gain of patience
let go of the effort
and peace will arrive

All your unfulfilled desires
are from your greed
for gain of fulfillments
let go of them all
and they will be sent as gifts

Fall in love with
the agony of love
not the ecstasy
then the beloved
will fall in love with you

~ Rumi
Translation by Nader Khalili
“Rumi, Fountain of Fire”
Cal-Earth Press, 1994

Autumn Rose Elegy..by Rumi

You have gone to the secret world.
Which way is it? 
You broke the cage and flew.

You heard the drum that calls you home.
You left this humiliating shelf, 
this disorienting desert
where we are given wrong directions.

What use now a crown?
You have become the sun.

No need for a belt.
You have slipped out of your waist.

I have heard that near the end
you were eyes looking at soul.

No looking now.
You live inside the soul.

You are the strange autumn rose
that led the winter wind in by withering.

You are rain soaking everywhere
from cloud to ground.

No bother of talking.
Flowing silence
and sweet sleep beside the Friend.

~ Rumi
The Glance: Songs of Soul-Meeting
by Jalaloddin Rumi,
Traslated by Coleman Barks
Art by Rassouli

Carrying God...by Hafiz

No one can keep us from carrying God
Wherever we go.

No one can rob His Name
From our hearts as we try to relinquish our fears
And at last stand – Victorious.

We do not have to leave Him in the mosque
Or church alone at night;

We do not have to be jealous of tales of saints
Or glorious masts, those intoxicated souls
Who can make outrageous love with the Friend.

We do not have to be envious of our spirit’s ability
Which can sometimes touch God in a dream.

Our yearning eyes, our warm-needing bodies,
Can all be drenched in contentment
And Light.

No one anywhere can keep us
From carrying the Beloved wherever we go.

No one can rob His precious Name
From the rhythm of my heart –
Steps and breath.

~ Hafiz
(Carrying God )
From The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz
Translation by Daniel Ladinsky

So You Can Plant More Wheat.....by Hafiz

I would like to remove some rock
from your field
so that you can plant more wheat.

And those hills I see that are part of you,
I have some trees in mind for them
and flowering grasses,

so that you won’t erode,
when the elements pour.

Are we not lovers?
Cannot I speak to you like this?

Do I need to ask your permission
to hitch up my ox
and sing to him as I improve
your vast terrain?

The title to your heart came to my office.
In looking at it a great interest
in your soul developed.

The care of your soul
became mine.

So I would like to remove some stones
from your meadows;
then an orchard you could grow,

and the world,
and the world then,
will come to taste
your riches.

~ Hafiz 

It is A Holy Tongue we share....by Belle Heywood

If only we human lovers knew 
a kiss is not a kiss
of lips alone. 

Not two
mere skins
making temporary flame.

No boys at play
rubbing sticks, creating
passing thrills of heat

It is A Holy Tongue
we share.

Speaking in Tongues
is speaking in Flame
is speaking devotion
with no beginning or end

Lips of surrender
shower upon mystery
the way a Lama throws
petals into space
to grace

Breathing is
beholding sun and moon

Moving hands
are offering
continents and Meru

There is no way to this
through intellect
but only through
a narrow gateway

the holiness of which
is only known
by those who
have the courage to pass through

If only we human lovers knew
a kiss is not a kiss
of lips alone.

~ Belle Heywood

Sacred paradoxes....by Rumi

Off with you! 
Know that the lover's religion is
contrary to other ways, 
for false dealings from the Friend
are better than sincerity and kindliness.

What is unthinkable for Him is the actual state,
His chastisement the reward, all of His tyranny justice,
His slander equity.

His harshness is soft,
His synagogue the Kaaba
the thorn driven home by the Heart-ravisher
is sweeter than roses and basil.

When He is sour,
He is more excellent than a house of sugar;
when He comes to you in annoyance,
He is all affection and kisses.

When He says to you, "By God, I am sick of you!",
that is Khidr's elixir from the Fountain of Life.

When He says "No!"
a thousand yea's are hidden within it;
in this religion of the selfless,
He becomes family
and self by remaining a stranger.

His unbelief is faith, His stones all coral,
His miserliness generosity, His offenses all forgiveness.

If you taunt me and say,
"Your religion is bent out of shape!"
well, I have bought the religion of His bent
eyebrow for the price of my spirit.

This bent religion has made me drunk! Enough!
I will shut my lips you continue,
oh illuminated heart, and
recite the rest silently!

Oh Beloved ! Oh my Shams of God Tabrizi!
What sugar you pour down!
You voice a hundred arguments and
proofs from my mouth!

~ Rumi
Ghazal 1869,
from the Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi
Translation by William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love - The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi"
State University of New York Press, Albany, 1983
Art by Semmick Photo

Ripen fig...by Rumi

Now that You live here in my chest,
anywhere we sit is a mountaintop.

And those other images,
which have enchanted people
like porcelain dolls from China,
which have made men and women weep
for centuries, even those have changed now.

What used to be pain is a lovely bench
where we can rest under the roses.

A left hand has become a right.
A dark wall, a window.

A cushion in a shoe heel,
the leader of the community!

Now silence. What we say
is poison to some
and nourishing to others.

What we say is a ripe fig,
but not every bird that flies
eats figs.

~ Rumi 

don't wander far.... ~ Belle Heywood

When you leave from here my dear
don't go plunging into the hell realms.
without a decision to remain in love
you may well fall there.

But know that it is completely up to you
whether you become lost, lonely, confused or not

I know, because i have been to heaven too
I have been to the Purelands...
and i have had to leave

but it was up to me
i see now
what happened to me next

When you leave from here my dear
don't go plunging into the hell realms
where the suffering is so great
there is barely no chance to have one's ears
free enough from agony
long enough to hear a syllable of Dharma

It is a very very very long journey out of hell
so please, come back
to where you can govern your mind
with more ease now my dear

and don't wander far....

~ Belle Heywood
(don't wander far....)
Photo Belle Heywood

I only speak of the Sun because the Sun is my Master.....by Rumi

I only speak of the Sun
because the Sun is my Master
I worship even the dust at His feet.

I am not a night-lover and do not praise sleep
I am the messenger of the Sun!

Secretly I will ask him
and pass the answers to you.

Like the Sun
I shine on those who are forsaken

I may look drunk and disheveled
but I speak the Truth.

Tear off the mask,
your face is glorious,

your heart may be cold as stone but
I will warm it with my raging fire.

No longer will I speak
of sunsets or rising Moons,

I will bring you love's wine
for I am born of the Sun
I am a King!

~ Rumi
Ghazal (Ode) 1621
Translated by Azima Melita Kolin
and Maryam Mafi
Rumi: Hidden Music
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2001
Art by Carol Bostan