Reflections: The Subject Tonight Is Love…
“This sky where we live is no place to lose your wings so love, love, love.” Hafez
Reflections: The Subject Tonight Is Love…
Esperanza Spalding – Body & Soul
Faithful Lover by Hafez
The moon came to me last night
With a sweet question.
She said, “The sun has been my faithful lover
For millions of years.
Whenever I offer my body to him
Brilliant light pours from his heart.Thousands then notice my happiness
And delight in pointing Toward my beauty.
Hafiz, Is it true that our destiny
Is to turn into Light Itself?”And I replied, Dear moon,
Now that your love is maturing,
We need to sit together
Close like this more often
So I might instruct you
How to become Who you Are!
The Subject Tonight is Love by Hafez
The subject tonight is Love
And for tomorrow night as well,
As a matter of fact,
I know of no better topic
For us to discuss
Until we all Die!
In this post, we continue the series on the powerful, evocative writings of the mystic poets. Tonight, it is Hafez. Some use the spelling Hafiz. Tonight, we venture into the exquisite world of the lyric poet and enjoy some of his poems on love. They are succinct, pithy, witty, and inspiring. He writes not just about the heady familiar world of romantic love but of the love that sustains us; spiritual and practical love… Each segment is accompanied by a jazz tune from the gifted musician and Grammy Award winner for Best New Artist – Esperanza Spalding.
“We have come into this exquisite world to experience ever and ever more deeply our divine courage, freedom and light!” Hafez
Reflections: The Subject Tonight Is Love…
Esperanza Spalding – Love in Time
Esperanza Spalding – I know You know (Live) – Nobel concert
It Felt Love by Hafez
How Did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give to this world
All its Beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its Being,
Otherwise, We all remain
Too Frightened.
Becoming Human by Hafez
Once a man came to me and spoke for hours about
“His great visions of God” he felt he was having.
He asked me for confirmation, saying,
“Are these wondrous dreams true?”
I replied, “How many goats do you have?”
He looked surprised and said,
“I am speaking of sublime visions
And you ask About goats!”And I spoke again saying,
“Yes, brother – how many do you have?”
“Well, Hafiz, I have sixty-two.”
“And how many wives?”
Again he looked surprised, then said,
“Four.”
“How many rose bushes in your garden,
How many children,
Are your parents still alive,
Do you feed the birds in winter?”
And to all he answered.Then I said,
“You asked me if I thought your visions were true,
I would say that they were if they make you become
More human, More kind to every creature and plant
That you know.”
What I love about the mystic poets is that they were expert at human behavior and grounded in the need for common sense, practical approaches to life. As often as possible, they guide us back to the need to live and love life fully with clarity and a love for the divine. Becoming Human above is one of my favorites… the humor, simplicity and practical advice remind us that love is also compassionate and kind. More below. 😉
“One regret dear world, that I am determined not to have when I am lying on my deathbed is that I did not kiss you enough.” Hafez
Reflections: The Subject Tonight Is Love…
Esperanza Spalding – Esperanza Spalding – Short and Sweet live at Town Hall, NYC [05/12]
Why Abstain? By Hafez
Why Abstain from love
When like the beautiful snow goose
Someday your soul
Will leave this summer
Camp?Why Abstain from happiness
When like a skilled lion
Your heart is NearingAnd Will someday see
The divine prey is Always
Near!
The Happy Virus by Hafez
I caught the happy virus last night
When I was out singing beneath the stars.
It is remarkably contagious –
So kiss me.
Love encompasses all aspects of life. It is the raison d’etre for all we do. It goes beyond our mundane desires to our more complex needs and our acts of courage and grace. What are your thoughts? Have you read the Hafez poems above? What other poems on Love come to mind? Do you view love as ours to enjoy or as a gift for the few? How did you handle it? Do share! Thank you. 😉
*Please bear with me as I continue to catch up on your blogs and commenting… Thank you all for your patience! 🙂
Positive Motivation Tip: Love is the reason we get up in the morning, carry out our commitments, and rest to start again another day; love for self, for others, for greater understanding.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All photos Cropped Rose, Rose66, Red Roses, via Wikipedia and/or via Flickr Poems/Lyrics via Astrodreamadvisor.com
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
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- First Ghazal of Hafez (granapukhtana.wordpress.com)
- Inspiration: When Love Beckons… (eof737.wordpress.com)
- Hafiz in the Morning… (forthearchives.wordpress.com)
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beautiful!
Thank you! 🙂
Reblogged this on Milenanik3's Blog and commented:
Beautiful as always
Beautiful poetry – and beautiful music. I think love (not just romantic love) is the force that holds everything together in the world.
That is the reddest red I’ve ever seen!!
Soothing beautiful music.. romance is in the air..
Beautiful post. Ms. Spalding has a lot of talent.
I’ve just recently “discovered” Esperanza Spalding…and I love her. What a nice way to punctuate your thoughts! I do think immersing in music and poetry is a wonderful way to relax the body and our often over-active minds! I can get so busy that I live in the left hemisphere, and don’t soothe myself with nearly enough right hemisphere luxuriating. You have me considering that today! Debra
This is a wonderful quote!
“One regret dear world, that I am determined not to have when I am lying on my deathbed is that I did not kiss you enough.”
Now I remember reading the Hafez poem, IT FELT LOVE several times in the past, but did not connect it with Hafez. I have said here before, and will say again, how much I enjoy poems by these mystics. Thanks to Twitter, I often receive some shorter quotes from Rumi and Hafez on my phone, often just as I am turning in for the night–What a way to drift off to dreamland. Thanks so much for bringing all of this beauty of love to us here today.
Hi there, I nominated you for the Sunshine Award!! Check it out: http://thegreatphotoadventure.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/the-sunshine-award/
I love this stanza in “Faithful Lover”:
And I replied, Dear moon,
Now that your love is maturing,
We need to sit together
Close like this more often
So I might instruct you
How to become Who you Are!
Wow! Hafez is dynamite and I love your choices from his extensive works. Thanks for reminding us that love is more than romance. It is the very life we live and breath we take.
B
I knew there was a reason I get up each morning 🙂
Too beautiful Eliz!
You introduced me to Hafiz through your posts last year, and I am in awe of the truth and beauty of his words.
Wow! I have never even heard of Hafez, let alone read his writings. Thank you so much for sharing those beautiful poems!
Had never heard of Hafez, beautiful!
And Esperanza, what’s there to say. Fabulous combination.
Years ago, I asked an emphatic healer what ‘the secret’ was. I expected to get a long and esoteric explanation. Instead she said simply: it’s love. I was so taken aback, it took a minute for it to sink in then I realized how profound it was.
Love, it’s all we need.
I’m Persian, we study these beautiful poem at school I suggest you read another Iranian poet poems like ferdosi sohrab, sepehri saadi, mollanna nasser, khosro shahreiar, arref ghazvini
Thank you for your feedback. I look them up and read their poems. 🙂