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