Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Rumi Whispered to Me

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi is one of my favorite poets. What I love about him is how he puts the spirit of the thing outside the context of religion. You can read more of Rumi's history on poets.org and read his poetry in both Farsi and English on http://www.rumionfire.com/.

What poet speaks to you and what does he/she say?

Rumi Whispered to Me
Stand in the field
Love into the right and the wrong of it
Keep the tea kettle on and the water hot
Invite every unexpected guest inside
Let them pass back and forth across threshold
Again and again
and again

Knock on the doors of strangers
and listen to the shape their words.
Their souls live in there

Be drunk and love deeper
Love anger like a lover. She is your passion.
Hold on to your lover tighter then let her go
Burn for her
She'll come back again and again
and again

Pray.
Pray reverently
Pray irreverently
Pray to the salts of the earth.
Pray to the rains on the heaven.
Pray to the wine you wish you had drunk
Pray to the wine you wish you hadn't tasted

Stumble drunkenly down the road
In the arms of friends
Holding is found in the spaces between you

Fly inside to the mystery
Ask the moon to rise.
Be confused and silent, my friend
Dress your spirit in gold
and your body in clothes

Light a candle. Go slow.
Watch how quickly it burns.
Ask for what you really want.
The mirror of yourself lie in the flame

That field there?
Let's meet and share a stranger's wine until dawn
and lie down in the green, green grass
to watch the sun rise and fall into the full moon
Let's lie down in the green, green grass
to watch the trees rise and fall
from flower to green to orange to yellow to brown
Let's lie down in the green, green grass
to watch the snow fall and rise around us

The destruction of the heavens will fall around us, lovers
Look up and be sober. The stars still stand


Sunday, April 6, 2014

Trust

When was the last time to trusted the universe to catch you?

This spring has been rough. Winter keeps coming to cover the daffodils and the daffodils keep raising their yellow heads to meet the sun. It's been like that for many of us.

I wondered if I could trust the spring to come this year. Now that I'm looking at full spring, I remember that the robins and the crows and the cardinals all trusted the spring to come. They sat straight up and sang through every storm. They trusted spring to come and sang it up to us.

Go outside and look around you this week. Where do you see trust?

Trust
When the crow spreads its wings,
he trusts the wind to hold him
When the he reaches his feet,
he trusts the tree to catch him

Put out your wings to fly
Spread your toes to land
Know the wind holds you
and the tree catches you