Show me the ceiling
To break through it
Roof to climb
Endless stars infinity
Town edge dwelling
Among likeminded
City limits absorb
Unsuppressed greening
Ancient named peaks
Conquered cliff seams
Deconstructed reality
Worldbuilding dreams
Every time a memory
Falls from your lips
I capture the castle
Tend to its turrets
Looking out to wilderness
Waiting for inhabitants
Clock stopped in shock
Longing to revive
Moving hand to hand in time
For one
Love is a many useful thing
Use, reuse and repurpose it
Toward the betterment
Of others
One million words
Could not portray
My love
Instead
Turn her away
Silence and presence
Is all that's required
For her to know
How much
First thing to add is a packet of self-respect
To this, all other ingredients can be added
Then, take the junk food out of the bag
Leave it unless kindness is a preservative
No silent treatment
Shut downs, let downs, broken promises
These are carcinogens
The cheap things on the list
Will cost you the most
In the long run
If we ingest words, touch, treatment
Only take away the best
You are worth it
A gourmet nutritious spread
Of generosity
Don’t shove down anything else
Wreak havoc with your insides
Because humans have basic needs
And love is one of them
One can be wise
Wealthy and generous
Kind as earth is wide
But unless their touch
Gives and receives
Stories gently
Our lives an imprint
Of our family tree
The sting of derision
Hurts them more than me
Storykeepers spreading
Joy of living
From petal to seed
Even after
All this time
The sun
Never says
To the earth
"You owe me"
Look what happens
With a love
Like that.
It lights
The whole sky.
~ From The Gift:
Poems by Hafiz, 1999.
By Daniel Ladinsky
A ship out of water
Hiding in the shadow
Golden yellow halo
Curls and waves fall
Frame her face
Fixed on me
Two sapphire gems
So blindingly bright
I take pictures
With my mind
Side-glances
While capturing
All the beauty
Earth and sea
In between
Rocky shore
Where still waters
Lap at oyster shells
Wings open to glide
Over river mirror
Reflections everywhere
Stories shared
Held carefully
Between clasped hands
A body of water
Still reflecting sky
Seemingly inanimate
Yet underneath
Life abounds
In tepid pools
Embankments bare
Except for wintering
Trees naked as we came
Trickling down
Not reaching for
Anywhere or anything
All flows in
Saying Come to me
I am here
Count the stars of heaven 