WHEN SPACE IS NOT RATIONED....by Hafiz

For a while
The eagle in flight might say,

'Look dear, I am home
Space is no longer being rationed.'

For a while you might feel
I am complete,

When the touch from another upon certain
Of your fields

Has the power to dissolve all that
Is known.

Wholeness, I think
Draws its life somewhere where the breathing
Stops,

Somewhere where the mind cradles light,
Where the only senses that remain
Blush and stumble

If they try to speak with our language so new
It is still trying to Invent,

Still shaping
Its first intelligible sound,
Still sculpting its first true image of
God."

~ Hafiz
From "The Gift" by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky
(WHEN SPACE IS NOT RATIONED)

I KNOW I WAS THE WATER.....By Hafiz

"Who can believe the divine kindness of God?
Who can comprehend what happens when
Separation ends?

For now,
Because of my union with Reality,
Now,
Whenever I hear a story of one of His prophets
Having come into this world,

I know I was a tree that stood near,
Leaned down and took notes.

I know I was the earth that measured the infinite
Arch in His feet.

I know I was the water,
I know I was the food and water that nourished Him -
That went into our Beloved's mouth.

Pilgrim,
If it is in your wish, you will someday see
You sat inside of Hafiz

And it was with the lyre you gave me
We sang of truth and the sublime intimacy:

'I know I was the water
That quenched the Christ's thirst.

I know I Am the food and water that goes
Into every
Mouth.'"

(Hafiz. "The Gift: Poems by Hafiz - the Great Sufi Master".
Daniel Ladinsky.

Bring some peace......by Hafez

Build a House
for men and birds.

Sit with them
and play music.

For a day,
for just one day,

talk about that
which disturbs no one

and bring
some peace,

my friend,
into your beautiful eyes.

~ Hāfez,
From The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz

I lean as close to your body with my words As I can.......by Hafez

Because the Woman I love lives
Inside of you,

I lean as close to your body with my words
As I can

And I think of you all the time, dear pilgrim.

Because the One I love goes with you
Wherever you go,
Hafiz will always be near.

If you sat before me, wayfarer,
With your aura bright from your many
Charms,

My lips could resist rushing to you and needing
To befriend your blushed cheek,

But my eyes can no longer hide
The wondrous fact of who
You Really are.

The Beautiful One whom I adore
Has pitched His royal tent inside of you,

So I will always lean my heart
As close to your soul
As I can.

~ Hafez
“The Woman I Love” by Hafiz,
translated by Daniel Ladinsky
from The Subject Tonight is Love by Daniel Ladinsky,
published by Penguin Compass. Copyright © 2003 by Daniel Ladinsky

The Ambience of Love......by Hafez

We All

Sit in His orchestra,

Some play their
Fiddles,

Some wield their
Clubs,

Tonight is worthy of music.

Let's get loose
With
Compassion,

Let's drown in the delicious
Ambience of
Love.

~ Hafiz
"The Ambience of Love"
from The Gift
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky

I have made the journey into Nothing......by Hafiz

I have made the journey into Nothing.
I have lit that lamp that
Needs no oil.

I have cried great streams
Of emerald crystals
On my scarred knees, begging love

To never again let me hear from
Any world

The sound of my own name,
Even from the voice of divine thought

Or see that pen you gave me, God,
In the sun's or sky's skillful hand
Writing
Anything other than the word
ONE.

I have made the journey into Nothing
I have become the flame that needs
No fuel.

Beloved,
Now what need is there to ever
Call for Hafiz?

For if you did,
I would just step out
of YOU.

~ Hafiz
from The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the Great Sufi Master,
by Daniel Ladinsky

I SAW TWO BIRDS....by Hafiz

Both of our mouths
Can fit upon this flute I carry.

My music will sound
So much sweeter that way
With your breath and my breath
Poking each other in the ribs
And kissing.

I saw two birds on a limb this morning
Laughing with the sun.
They reminded me of how
We will one day exist.

My dear,
Keep thinking about God,
Keep thinking about the Beloved
And soon our nest will be the
Whole firmament.

Forget about all your desires for truth,
We have gone far beyond that.
For now it is just
Pure need.

Both our hearts are meant to sing.
Both our souls are destined to touch
And kiss
Upon this holy flute
God carries.

~ Hafiz
The Gift

This sky where we live is no place to lose your wings So love, love, love. ~ Hafiz

“This place where you are right now,
God circled on a map for you.”

”One regret, dear world,
That I am determined not to have
When I am lying on my deathbed
Is that
I did not kiss you enough.”

“I should not make any promises right now,
But I know if you
Pray
Somewhere in this world –
Something good will happen.”

“I wish I could show you,
When you are lonely or in the darkness,
The Astonishing Light
Of your own Being!”

“This sky where we live is no place to lose your wings
So love, love, love.”

~ Hafiz

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.

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

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

There are so many positions of love...by Hafiz

There are so many positions of love:
each curve on a
branch,

the thousand ways your eyes can hold us,
the infinite shapes each mind
can draw,

the spring orchestra of scents and sounds
wafting through the air,

the currents of light combusting like
passionate
lips,

the revolution of the universe’s skirt,
whose folds contain other worlds,

Our every sigh that falls against
His inconceivably close,
omnipresent,
divine
body.

~ Hafiz

And For No Reason......by Hafiz

And
For no reason
I start skipping like a child!

And
For no reason
I turn into a leaf
That is carried so high
I kiss the sun's mouth
And dissolve!

And
For no reason
A thousand birds
Choose my head for a conference table
Start passing their
Cups of wine
And their wild songbooks all around!

And
For every reason in existence
I begin to eternally.
To eternally laugh and love!

When I turn into a leaf
And start dancing,
I run to kiss our beautiful Friend
And I dissolve in the Truth
That I am.

~ Hafiz
Translation by Daniel Ladinsky

Whisper, "I love you! I love you!" To the whole mad world.....by Hafiz

Go for a walk, if it is not too dark.
Get some fresh air, try to smile.
Say something kind
To a safe-looking stranger, if one happens by.

Always exercise your heart's knowing.

You might as well attempt something real
Along this path:

Take your spouse or lover into your arms
The way you did when you first met.
Let tenderness pour from your eyes
The way the Sun gazes warmly on the earth.

Play a game with some children.
Extend yourself to a friend.
Sing a few ribald songs to your pets and plants -
Why not let them get drunk and wild!

Let's toast
Every rung we've climbed on Evolution's ladder.
Whisper, "I love you! I love you!"
To the whole mad world.

Let's stop reading about God -
We will never understand Him.

Jump to your feet, wave your fists,
Threaten and warn the whole Universe

That your heart can no longer live
Without real love!

~ Hafiz
From I Heard God Laughing -
Renderings of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky

Forever Dance.....by Hafiz

I am happy even before I have a reason.

I am full of Light even before the sky
Can greet the sun or the moon.

Dear companions,

We have been in love with God
For so very, very long.

What can Hafiz now do but Forever
Dance!

~ Hafiz 
(Forever Dance )
Version by Daniel Ladinsky

From “I heard God Laughing”

Laughter.....by Hafiz

What is laughter?
It is God waking up!
It is the sun poking its sweet head out

From behind a cloud
You have been carrying too long,
Veiling your eyes and heart.

It is Light breaking ground for a great Structure
That is your Real body - called Truth.

It is happiness applauding itself and then taking flight
To embrace everyone and everything in this world.

Laughter is the polestar
Held in the sky by our Beloved,
Who eternally says,

"Yes, dear ones, come this way,
Come this way towards Me and Love!

Come with your tender mouths moving
And your beautiful tongues conducting songs
And with your movements - your magic movements
Of hands and feet and glands and cells - Dancing!

Know that to God's Eye,
All movement is a Wondrous Language,
And Music - such exquisite, wild Music!"

O what is laughter, Hafiz?
What is this precious love and laughter
Budding in our hearts?

It is the glorious sound
Of a soul waking up.....!

~Hafiz

“Kiss Me.” ..by Hafiz

“Like
A pair

Of mismatched newlyweds,

One of whom still feels very insecure,

I keep turning to God

Saying,

“Kiss

Me.”

~ Hafiz