Rest your cheek, for a moment, on this drunken cheek.......by Rumi

Rest your cheek, for a moment,
on this drunken cheek.

Let me forget the war and cruelty 
inside myself.

I hold these silver coins in my hand;
give me Your wine of golden light.

You have opened the seven doors of heaven;
now lay Your hand generously on my tightened heart.

All I have to offer is this illusion, my self.
Give it a nickname at least that is real.

Only you can restore what You have broken;
help my broken head.

I'm not asking for some sweet pistachio candy,
but Your everlasting love.

Fifty times I've said,
"Heart, stop hunting and step into this net."

~ Rumi
Trans by Kabir Helminski
From "Love is a Stranger"
Art by Nik Helbig

My life.....................by Rabindranath Tagore

My life when young 
was like a flower

A flower 
that loosens a petal or two 
from her abundance 
and never feels the loss
when the spring breeze comes
to beg at her door.

Now at the end of youth
my life is like a fruit,
having nothing to spare,
and waiting to offer herself completely
with her full burden of sweetness.

to you....

~ Rabindranath Tagore
Art by Guri Stark

Where roads are made I lose my way.....by Rabindranath Tagore

Where roads are made 
I lose my way.

In the wide water, in the blue sky 
there is no line of a track.

The pathway is hidden by the birds' wings,
by the star-fires,
by the flowers of the wayfaring seasons.

And I ask my heart
if its blood carries
the wisdom of the unseen way.

~ Rabindranath Tagore
Art by Mario Sanchez Nevado

Gratitude is a river, not drops....by Belle Heywood

Suddenly,
i'm learning that
gratitude is a river,
not drops

If i give you only a drop
i am lying.
i am holding back.

If i describe what you have given
in parts, in bits,
how unloving that is!

you are all bread- not this crumb and that
even all bread doesn't describe or contain you
nor a river !!!! - oh i am so wrong !

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
if i thank you for one thing- i am wrong-
and yet if i don't thank you - totally wrong also !

There are no separate incidents, there are no separate 'things' to thank for
there are no things at all..
no isolated acts..

but
my small mind breaks you down
into bite sizes..
that i can 'handle'
(is this only because i am too scared to completely unite /be annihilated in you..? )
and so my thanks remains small, partial, pointable, wordable...

it is a jealous and mean act to thank you for a few things... !

only ego MANAGES love

but LOVE CAN'T BE MANAGED !

how could i ever thank you for Your Grace-

YOU who are constant, continuous,
inseparable-unchanging-unfixed,
unbreakdownable,
not the sum of parts,
not partable,
there is no metaphor or example for you

i want to say you are a flat unending, indestructible line - like the line on a screen when someone's heart has stopped beating

or the sky

but

you are
not any 'thing' at all.

~ Belle Heywood
Art by Peggy J Hughes

My eyes went away from me following a dark girl who went by....by Pablo Neruda

My eyes went away from me 
following a dark girl who went by.

She was made of black mother-of-pearl, 
made of dark-purple grapes, 
and she lashed my blood 
with her tail of fire.

After them all
I go.

A pale blonde went by
like a golden plant
swaying her gifts.
And my mouth went
like a wave
discharging on her breast
lightning bolts of blood.

After them all
I go.

But to you, without my moving,
without seeing you, distant you,

Go my blood and my kisses,
my dark one and my fair one,
my tall one and my little one,
my broad one and my slender one,
my ugly one, my beauty,

She is
made of all the gold
and of all the silver,
made of all the wheat

and of all the earth,
made of all the water
of the sea waves,

made for my arms,
made for my kisses,
made for my soul.

~ Pablo Neruda

The task of my life is love.....by Jami

The task of my life is love
The reason of my life is love
The sum of my life is love

My mind has completely gone for love
My heart and soul are always protected by love.

I need to come back to my senses
So I can start my preaching about love.

Unless your chest gets that burning feeling
Every time love is mentioned,
You can never truly explain the meaning of love.

May my Helper from High Above
Bestow more knowledge upon me,
So I can continue my research studies on love.

I feel my chest is burning for love right now,
So here are my humble explanations
Of the good old love

Love is just a poor moth
In front of the Eternal flame .
Those burning marks on the moth
Are for the sake of the everlasting love.

A soul without love,
Is just a lifeless dead corpse.
A soul blessed by love,
Remains forever alive.

Seek the very essence of your life
In love.
Search your own inner treasures
In love.

Wherever it might be,
Love is always the alchemy of all things.
Even worthless copper touched by love,
Turns into solid gold.

Love is not meant
To get attached to this material world,
Love means giving up on both worlds.

Love is not meant
To simply wish for eternal union with the Beloved,
Love means getting burned and consumed
In the flames of self-annihilation first.

A lover is the one
Who happily sings the song of self-annihilation
While letting go of his own self.

A lover is the one
Who not only gives up the wealth of this world,
But also ignores the rewards of the Hereafter.

A lover’s lifelong quest
Is finding the direction of the Friend
Because anything and anyone but the Friend,
Is simply a mirage.

A lover even gives up
On his closest loved ones,
For the sake of eternal mystical union
With the Friend.

A lover even abandons
The joyous company of his friends,
In order to follow as the Friend commands.

At any given moment,
A lover stands in total awe of love.
And in every breath taken,
A lover cherishes the blessing of love.

~ Jami
Iran/Persia (1048 - 1141)
(Love Of Maulana Jami in spiritual journey The Meaning of Love )

Come come come my endless desires come come come...by Rumi

Come come come
my endless desires
come come come

Come my beloved
come my sweetheart
come come come

Don't talk about the journey
say no more
of the path one must take

You are my path
you are my journey
come come come

You stole from this earth
a bouquet of roses
i am hidden in that bouquet
come come come

As long as i am sober
and keep talking about
good and bad

I'm missing
the most important event
seeing your face
come come come

I must be a moron
missing this life
if i don't cast my mind
in the fire of your love
come come come

~ Rumi
Ode (Ghazal) 156
Translated by Nader Khalili
"Rumi, Fountain of Fire"
Burning Gate Press, Los Angeles, 1994
Art by Canan berber