a divinely inspired poetry reading

Every Movement
by Hafiz

I rarely let the word "No" escape
From my mouth

Because it is so plain to my soul

That God has shouted, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
To every luminous movement in Existence.


Of Course Things Like That Can Happen
by Hafiz

Once God made love to a great saint
Who had a hairy belly.

Of course things like that can happen!

And it was a surprise
Only to the novice on the path
When the saint's stomach began to swell
Just like a woman's.

Weeks went by, then months.
The saint's cheeks
Turned into beautiful roses.
He became like a young bride
Who was carrying a holy child,
And his gratitude was speechless.

But his eyes shone
Like two planets making love.

The town began to stand outside his house
At night, For it had come to the attention of the faithful
That as the moon passed by on its round,
It would sometimes bend over and kiss the roof!

Of course things like that can happen.

Life went on
Amidst the other ten thousand wonders:
Whiskers and weeds and trees and charming babies
Kept emerging.

People and cattle and bees worked side by side,
All sweetly humming,
And, come lunch,
All dined on the same
Mysterious
Divine manna of nourishing Love
Disguised in a thousand shapes, colors and forms.

Galaxies gave away their ingenious ideas
And told us of their private body functions.
So man, too,
Eats, burps and excretes more worlds.

How is it that invisible thoughts can lift heavy matter
And build cities and armies and altars?
All contain a Hidden Strategy
To be transformed again
Into Divine Music and Love and Light!

The sun rolls through
The sky meadows every day,
And a billion cells run
To the top of a leaf to scream and applaud
And smash things in their joy.

Of course things like that can happen.

Rivers stay up all night and chant;
Luminous fish jump out of the water
Spitting emeralds at all talk of Heaven
Being anywhere else but -- Right Here!

Clouds pull each other's pants down
And point and laugh.

O my dear, Of course things like that can happen.

For all is written within the Mind
To help and instruct the dervish
In dance and romance and prayer.
The stars get clearly drunk
And crazy at night
And throw themselves
Across the sky.

Only an insane being or compound
Is not going mad with excitement
At this Wonderful Performance by God!

And still, Light stretches its arms
Open ever more
And shouts to you, because you are
His lover, To forget your harsh actions of the past
And just Dance!

Look!
Angels and flowers
Are playing hooky in graveyards,
Laughing and rolling naked on cool stones.

Why go to sleep tonight
Exhausted from the folly of ignorance,
When even the Beloved is Drunk
And is doing wonderful, ecstatic somersaults
And is giving wild lessons between the sheets
And between His handstands
All up and down the Tavern floor and ceiling!

Indeed,Indeed, things like that can happen.

A few days
Before the delivery of God's baby,
The saint had to visit a city close by
Where few knew him.
He was walking unnoticed past a mosque,

And the shouts of God's lovers
Happened to fill the air,
calling,"Allah, Allah! Where are you?
Where are You, Beautiful One?"

And the child in the womb of the Master
Could not remain silent and shouted back,
In an astounding voice,"I am Here! I am Here -- dear world!"

The crowd in the mosque became frantic,
And they picked up shoes, clubs and stones.
You know what then happened - The story became grim.

But the moon cannot hold a grudge.It still stops by some nights
And leans over this gentle earth, as over a crib,
And gives a full, wet kiss.

For the moon knows
That God is always amorous -He will never stop making Love,
For the Truth has been Divinely Conceived
Deeply within each of us.

O Hafiz,Look at the Splendor of God's Grace:
The Sun has been planted in a thousand furrows
Across every soul's brow.

Of course, my dear, Everything God and I say Can Happen!