A new poem

I am getting ready to officiate the wedding of Sara and Chris at the end of this month.  Their love story parallels mine with John.  I  facilitated their introduction a year ago and watched them fall in love over the summer and fall.  Sara introduced me to this poem by Hafiz , a mystical sufi poet.

 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 all I care about
Is quenching your thirst for freedom!

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

I love this:  "I know the way  you can get..." 

In our family we know how we can get when we are hungry (hangry, right?) and I know how I can get when I have not slept enough and I know how I can get when I am under stress and I know how I can get when I am feeling afraid and anxious.  It may not always be immediately visible, but inside  me there is a clenching, a hardness, a terrible tension. And I can get inwardly judgmental and critical. (sometimes outwardly!)

I like how the poet writes: 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."

For some people, faith is an "if then" proposition: that   my  faith and good works will result in God's favor.  For me, it is almost the opposite.  My faith - remembering there is a God and it is not me, there is a God who is loving, protecting, eternal - results in my inner peace, spaciousness, and freedom to love.  When I remember I can soften and let go and trust.  For me, drinking from Love's Hands can mean stopping, listening, looking, praying, BEING. 

Psalm 46 is one of my favorites because it has the lines - "Be still and know that I am God."  It begins with an experience of tumult  with a picture of earth giving way, mountains falling, waters roaring and foaming.  In the midst of troubles and fears God is present - an ever present help.  The Psalmist like the poet Hafiz has the same understanding - remember.  Be still and drink from Love's hands. 

Because otherwise - I know the way you can get.