Today was our monthly questing meeting. I have written about our lovely little group of three before. This time it was my turn to host, and as usual I had zero luck finding an inspiring reading. I leafed through several volumes of poetry, scanned the web using various keywords, even tried to find a decent Bible passage, but to no avail. So finally, in desperation, I turned to my archives—and found a poem that I used back in 2011. I didn't remember it, so I figured my fellow questers wouldn't either. (Wendy said she sort of did.) I'm not sure it was an especially effective selection, but oh well. You can't win 'em all. It's a nice poem, though, and it was, as always, wonderful to spend time with Annie and Wendy. And eat cookies.
All the Hemispheres
Leave the familiar for a while.
Let your senses and bodies stretch out
Like a welcomed season
Onto the meadows and shores and hills.
Open up to the Roof.
Make a new water-mark on your excitement
And love.
Like a blooming night flower,
Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness
And giving
Upon our intimate assembly.
Change rooms in your mind for a day.
All the hemispheres in existence
Lie beside an equator
In your heart.
Greet Yourself
In your thousand other forms
As you mount the hidden tide and travel
Back home.
All the hemispheres in heaven
Are sitting around a fire
Chatting
While stitching themselves together
Into the Great Circle inside of
You.
—Hafiz (ca. 1320–1388); translated by Daniel Ladinsky
No comments:
Post a Comment