2000-09-20

feeling kinda

my dear: read your note this morning, and don't have any good answers, so i'll offer you this.

love dogs

One night a man was crying,

Allah! Allah!His lips grew sweet with the praising,
until a cynic said,
"So! I have heard youcalling out, but have you ever
gotten any response?"

The man had no answer to that.
He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep.

He dreamed he saw Khidr, the guide of souls,
in a thick, green foliage.

"Why did you stop praising?""Because I've never heard anything back.""This longingyou express is the return message."

The grief you cry out from
draws you toward union.

Your pure sadness
that wants help
is the secret cup.

Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection.

There are love dogs
no one knows the name of.

Give your life to be one of them.

--Rumi, as translated by Coleman Barks

yesterday :: tomorrow