vitalwholeness

Hafiz was the 14th century Sufi mystic and poet from Persia (present day Shiraz, Iraq). His life oscillated between the support of an adoring public and rejection by religious leaders who found him to be a threat. And so I dedicate the following to him, master of playful and deep verse, always leading just beyond the edge to the divine lover who may be hiding:

I turned my head, to rise
in time to see reflection,
holy garments in the skies,
turning the corner, asking
Why now, filled with sighs.
Why not, dear one? Fear pain
no more than clouds before rain,
  a rose reaching up and out
through winter snows,
the only way your love will grow.

TLC, 2012