Light Upon Light

O God, place light in my heart, 
and on my tongue light, and in my ears light, and in my sight light, 
and above me light, and to my right light, and to my left light, 
and before me light and behind me light. 

Place in my soul light.
Magnify for me light and amplify for me light.
Make for me light and make me a light.

O God, grant me light, and place light in my nerves, 
and in my body light, and in my hair light, and in my skin light.
O God, make for me a light in my grave...and a light in my bones.

Increase me in light, increase me in light, increase me in light. 
Grant me light upon light. 
Amen

Non-Being

We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.

-Laozi, Tao Te Ching 11 (Stephen Mitchell translation)

Insomnia

When I am with you, we stay up all night.
When you're not here, I can't go to sleep.
Praise God for those two insomnias!
And the difference between them."

-Rumi

And Love was Our Mother

Love is the path and road of our Prophet.

We were born from love, and love was our mother.

O you who are our mother, you are hidden within veils, 

Concealed from our disbelieving natures. 

Mevlana, Quatrain no.1470

"Dance, when you're broken open.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting. 
Dance in your blood. 
Dance when you're perfectly free. "
Rumi

Our Past Selves

"...I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to
be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise
us, come hammering on the mind's door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted
them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends. We forget all too soon the things we thought
we could never forget. We forget the loves and the betrayals alike, forget what we whispered and what
we screamed, forget who we were..."
Joan Didion

I know the Way You Can Get

I know the way you can get
When you have not had a drink of Love:

Your face hardens,
Your sweet muscles cramp.
Children become concerned
About a strange look that appears in your eyes
Which even begins to worry your own mirror
And nose.

Squirrels and birds sense your sadness
And call an important conference in a tall tree.
They decide which secret code to chant
To help your mind and soul.

Even angels fear that brand of madness
That arrays itself against the world
And throws sharp stones and spears into
The innocent
And into one's self.

O I know the way you can get
If you have not been drinking Love:

You might rip apart
Every sentence your friends and teachers say,
Looking for hidden clauses.

You might weigh every word on a scale
Like a dead fish.

You might pull out a ruler to measure
From every angle in your darkness
The beautiful dimensions of a heart you once
Trusted.

I know the way you can get
If you have not had a drink from Love's
Hands.

That is why all the Great Ones speak of
The vital need
To keep remembering God,
So you will come to know and see Him
As being so Playful
And Wanting,
Just Wanting to help.

That is why Hafiz says:
Bring your cup near me.

For I am a Sweet Old Vagabond
With an Infinite Leaking Barrel
Of Light and Laughter and Truth
That the Beloved has tied to my back.

Dear one,
Indeed, please bring your heart near me.
For all I care about
Is quenching your thirst for freedom!

All a Sane man can ever care about
Is giving Love!

From: 'I Heard God Laughing - Renderings of Hafiz' - Daniel Ladinsky