{"id":6978,"date":"2014-09-25T23:18:21","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T03:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?p=6978"},"modified":"2017-04-06T22:34:19","modified_gmt":"2017-04-07T02:34:19","slug":"love-poems-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/09\/love-poems-to-god.html","title":{"rendered":"Love Poems to God"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"lovetree\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Words come from a Divine Source, as far as I am concerned. since my writing (as if does for other wordsmiths) ‘writes me’.\u00a0 It flows through me and not from me. There are times when I have looked back at journal entries or articles I have penned over the years and think “Who wrote this?\u00a0 I don’t remember writing this.” There are times when writing feels like prayer; devotional and primal. It is like worshiping at the altar of creativity.<\/p>\n

Part of what feeds my soul are the words of those referred to as ‘ecstatic poets’; Rumi and Hafiz. Much of what they write can be construed as sensual and outright seductive. They can also be viewed as love poems to God. The book entitled The Gift<\/em> that contains golden nuggets from Hafiz was indeed a gift from a lover. We used to read to each other from what became dog-eared pages. I have treasured memories of the man who remains a dear friend.<\/p>\n

Here are some of my favorites for your reading pleasure:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It Felt Love<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n


\nHow<\/span><\/p>\n

Did the rose<\/span><\/p>\n

Ever open its heart<\/span><\/p>\n


\nAnd give to this world<\/span><\/p>\n

All its<\/span><\/p>\n

Beauty?<\/span><\/p>\n


\nIt felt the encouragement of light<\/span><\/p>\n

Against its<\/span><\/p>\n

Being,<\/span><\/p>\n


\nOtherwise,<\/span><\/p>\n

We all remain<\/span><\/p>\n


\nToo<\/span><\/p>\n

Frightened.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These Beautiful Love Games<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n


\nYoung lovers wisely say,<\/span><\/p>\n


\n“Let’s try it from this angle,<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe something marvelous will happen,<\/span><\/p>\n


\nMaybe three suns and two moons<\/span><\/p>\n

Will roll out<\/span><\/p>\n

From a hiding place in the body<\/span><\/p>\n

Our passion has yet to ignite.”<\/span><\/p>\n


\nOld lovers say,<\/span><\/p>\n

“We can do it one more time,<\/span><\/p>\n

How about from this longitude<\/span><\/p>\n

And latitude –<\/span><\/p>\n


\nSwinging from a rope tied to the ceiling,<\/span><\/p>\n


\nMaybe a part of God<\/span><\/p>\n

Is still hiding in a corner of your heart<\/span><\/p>\n

Our devotion has yet to reveal.”<\/span><\/p>\n


\nBottom line:<\/span><\/p>\n


\nDo not stop playing<\/span><\/p>\n

These beautiful<\/span><\/p>\n

Love<\/span><\/p>\n

Games.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Seed Cracked Open<\/p>\n

\u2018It used to be<\/p>\n

That when I would wake in the morning<\/p>\n

I could with confidence say,<\/p>\n

\u201dWhat am \u2018I\u2019 going to<\/p>\n

Do?\u201d<\/p>\n

That was before the seed<\/p>\n

Cracked open.<\/p>\n

Now Hafiz is certain:<\/p>\n

There are two of us housed<\/p>\n

In this body,<\/p>\n

Doing the shopping\u00a0together in the market and<\/p>\n

Tickling each other<\/p>\n

While fixing the evening\u2019s food.<\/p>\n

Now when I awake<\/p>\n

All the internal instruments play the same music:<\/p>\n

\u201dGod, what love-mischief can \u2018We\u2019 do<\/p>\n

For the world<\/p>\n

Today?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Guest House<\/p>\n

This being human is a guest house.
\nEvery morning a new arrival.<\/p>\n

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
\nsome momentary awareness comes
\nas an unexpected visitor.<\/p>\n

Welcome and entertain them all!
\nEven if they are a crowd of sorrows,
\nwho violently sweep your house
\nempty of its furniture,
\nstill, treat each guest honorably.
\nHe may be clearing you out
\nfor some new delight.<\/p>\n

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
\nmeet them at the door laughing and invite them in.<\/p>\n

Be grateful for whatever comes.
\nbecause each has been sent
\nas a guide from beyond.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

— Jelaluddin Rumi,
\ntranslation by Coleman Barks<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LOVE IS THE MASTER<\/span><\/p>\n

Love is the One who masters all things;
\nI am mastered totally by Love.
\nBy my passion of love for Love
\nI have ground sweet as sugar.
\nO furious Wind, I am only a straw before you;
\nHow could I know where I will be blown next?
\nWhoever claims to have made a pact with Destiny
\nReveals himself a liar and a fool;
\nWhat is any of us but a straw in a storm?
\nHow could anyone make a pact with a hurricane?
\nGod is working everywhere his massive Resurrection;
\nHow can we pretend to act on our own?
\nIn the hand of Love I am like a cat in a sack;
\nSometimes Love hoists me into the air,
\nSometimes Love flings me into the air,
\nLove swings me round and round His head;
\nI have no peace, in this world or any other.
\nThe lovers of God have fallen in a furious river;
\nThey have surrendered themselves to Love’s commands.
\nLike mill wheels they turn, day and night, day and night,
\nConstantly turning and turning, and crying out.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Are you in awe yet?\u00a0 If not, read some more of their brilliance~<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Words come from a Divine Source, as far as I am concerned. since my writing (as if does for other wordsmiths) ‘writes me’.\u00a0 It flows through me and not from me. There are times when I have looked back at journal entries or articles I have penned over the years and think “Who wrote this?\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2,13,33,3532,14,4,16,20,46],"tags":[4019,4018,4897,1862,59],"class_list":["post-6978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-bliss","category-blissfull-thinking","category-creativity","category-edie-weinstein","category-how-to-invite-bliss","category-inspiration","category-my-personal-bliss","category-poetry","category-prayer","tag-coleman-barks","tag-ecstatic-poetry","tag-edie-weinstein","tag-hafiz","tag-rumi"],"yoast_head":"\nLove Poems to God - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2014\/09\/love-poems-to-god.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Love Poems to God - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Words come from a Divine Source, as far as I am concerned. since my writing (as if does for other wordsmiths) ‘writes me’.\u00a0 It flows through me and not from me. 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She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. 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