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.

Thou art wine and I am water......by Rumi

Before such spirit-bestowing Beauty, 
how should 
I not die ?

How should 
I not go mad and seize hold of
Thy chainlike tresses?

When I drink Thy wine,
how should
I not be obliterated?

Thou art wine and I am water,
Thou art honey and I am milk.

Open Thy mouth, that infinite candy --
if Thou acceptest not my excuses, well,
I accept Thy blandishments!

Dost Thou know why I laugh?
Because of my own high aspiration
in the city of Thy Love,
I am the prince of lovers!

I and eternal Love were born into the world
from a single womb
though I appear as a new lover,
by God I am exceedingly ancient!

If you open your own eye,
you will be fitting only for yourself.
But if you find this vision,
you will know that I am peerless.

Like Men, I fire up the stove of all those
who are cold; and within the stove of warm spirits,
my dough is cooked to the greatest perfection!

In my gentleness, I am like milk
I never become caught in the throat.
Make no mistakes, though
I be salty like cheese!

In my love for Beloved Shams , I am a sultan
wearing a crown
but when he comes to the throne,
I am his vizier*.

~ Rumi
Ghazal 1695,
From Rumi's "Diwan-e Shams"
Translation by Professor William C. Chittick
"The Sufi Path of Love"
SUNY Press, Albany, 1983

*A vizier is a high executive officer of various Muslim
countries and especially of the Ottoman Empire.

Art by Michelle Scott