~*~

TROUBLED

Troubled?
Then stay with me, for I'm not.

Lonely?
A thousand naked amorous ones dwell in ancient caves
Beneath my eyelids.

Riches?
Here's a pick,
My whole body is an emerald that begs,
"Take me."

Write all that worries you on a piece of parchment;
Offer it to God.
Even from the distance of a millenium

I can lean the flame in my heart
Into your life

And turn
All that frightens you
Into holy
Incense
Ash.

~ The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the great Sufi master
Translations by Daniel Ladinsky

Why All This Talk?

Why all this talk of the Beloved,
Music and dancing,

And Liquid ruby-light we can lift in a cup?

Because it is low tide,
A very low tide in this age
And around most hearts.

We are exquisite coral reefs,
Dying when exposed to strange
Elements.

God is the wine-ocean we crave--
We miss

Flowing in and out of our
Pores.


~ The Subject Tonight Is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz; Daniel Ladinsky, translator