the cure for everything

yep. the real problem is that we are not reading enough rumi. what if the presidential debate was just the two of them reading each other rumi poems? a contest to see who could be the most moving, dazzling, soul-spinning? seduce me with mystic love and i will vote for you both, a double ballot that smashes duality and brings us all to the love we are.

with that. your homework. read these. and read at least one of them aloud to someone you suspect may need to hear it most.

Not Here
There’s courage involved if you want
to become truth. There is a broken-

open place in a lover. Where are
those qualities of bravery and sharp

compassion in this group? What’s the
use of old and frozen thought? I want

a howling hurt. This is not a treasury
where gold is stored; this is for copper.

We alchemists look for talent that
can heat up and change. Lukewarm

won’t do. Halfhearted holding back,
well-enough getting by? Not here.

The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent as a guide.

Shadow and Light Source Both
How does a part of the world leave the world?
How does wetness leave water? Don’t try to

put out fire by throwing on more fire! Don’t
wash a wound with blood. No matter how fast

you run, your shadow keeps up. Sometimes it’s
in front! Only full overhead sun diminishes

your shadow. But that shadow has been serving
you. What hurts you, blesses you. Darkness is
your candle. Your boundaries are your quest.

I could explain this, but it will break the
glass cover on your heart, and there’s no
fixing that. You must have shadow and light

source both. Listen, and lay your head under
the tree of awe. When from that tree feathers

and wings sprout on you, be quieter than
a dove. Don’t even open your mouth for even a coo.

—

The minute I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere,
they’re in each other all along.

—

When you find yourself with the Beloved, embracing for
one breath,
In that moment you will find your true destiny.
Alas, don’t spoil this precious moment
Moments like this are very, very rare.

—

“Love is the cure,
for your pain will keep giving birth to more pain
until your eyes constantly exhale love
as effortlessly as your body yields its scent.”

—

Ghazal 119
I don’t need
a companion who is
nasty sad and sour

the one who is
like a grave
dark depressing and bitter

a sweetheart is a mirror
a friend a delicious cake

it isn’t worth spending
an hour with anyone else

a companion who is
in love only with the self
has five distinct characters

stone hearted
unsure of every step

lazy and disinterested
keeping a poisonous face

the more this companion waits around
the more bitter everything will get
just like a vinegar
getting more sour with time

enough is said about
sour and bitter faces

a heart filled with desire for
sweetness and tender souls
must not waste itself with unsavory matters

—

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river
moving in you, a joy.”