Would You Think It Odd?

(Hafiz)


Would You Think It Odd? Would you think it odd if Hafiz said,

"I am in love with every church
And mosque
And temple
And anny kind of shrine

Because I know it is there
That the people say the different names
Of the One God"

Would you tell your friends
I was a bit strange if I admitted

I am indeed in love with every mind
And heart and body.

O I am sincerely
Plumb crazy
About your every thought and yearning
And limb

Because, my dear,
I know
That it is through these

That you search for Him.
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How Does It Feel to Be a Heart? (Hafiz)


Once a young woman asked me,

"How does it feel to be a man?"
And I replied,

"My dear,
I am not so sure."

Then she said,
"Well, aren't you a man?"

And this time I rep[lied,

"I view gender
As a beautiful animal
That people often take for a walk on a leash
And might enter in some odd contest
To try to win strange prizes.

My dear,
A better question for Hafiz
Would have been,

'How does it feel to be a heart?'

For all I know is Love,
And I find my heart Infinite
And Everywhere!"

Persian poet, Shamseddin Mohammad Hafiz:






It is this time and this place that matter--not some other time or place. What matters is here and now - ~ - the people here and now.