Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Mule Got Drunk and Lost in Heaven

by Hafiz

The
Mind is ever a tourist
Wanting to touch and buy new things
Then toss them into an already
Filled closet.

So I craft my words into those guides
That will offer you something fresh
From the Hidden's Tavern.

Few things are stronger than
The mind's need for diverse
Experience.

I am glad
Not many men or women can remain
Faithful lovers to the unreal.

There is a kind of adultery
That God encourages:

Your spirit needs to leave the bed
Of fear.

The gross, the subtle, the mental worlds
Become as a worthless husband.

Women need
To utilize their superior intelligence
About love

So that their hour's legacy
Can make us all stronger and more clement.

Sometimes a poem happens like this one:

The mule I sit on while I recite
Starts off in one direction
But then gets drunk

And lost in
Heaven.

2 comments:

Phillip Aijian said...

Daniel Ladinsky has a great translation of Hafiz called "The Gift." Really wonderful stuff. Supposedly, Hafiz wrote thousands of poems, but only a few hundred survived. My mom welded a sculpture of him which you can see here, if you want:

http://janaijian.com/#wonderment-f4dbe

It's the third thumbnail image from the left, I think.

Justin said...

Cool-- love the detail on his face. Yeah, this is quoted from The Gift. I should probably include that... so many great poems in there.