Hafez Inspired Poems
By Elliott Robertson
What a joy it has been to read the poems by the fourteenth century poem, Hafez! The translations by Dick Davis, one of today’s finest translators of Persian poetry, have made the poet come alive for me – the poet’s presence jumps off the page.
My recent encounters with Hafez have inspired these poems.
UPON THE WIND
I’m asking God to take from me
the fears that pull me back from
being who I am – O take these, God,
O please, upon the wind.
I’m hoping God will hear my prayer
for me to see the glorious light within,
the light seen by Mary Magdalene
when Jesus asked his followers
“Who do you say I am?”
I’m asking God to baptize me
in love so I might see no evil.
The garments I used to wear,
the fear of being shamed:
Take these, God, upon the wind.
I’m asking God to speak to me
through elms and roses,
to let them tell me something
far beyond what books can say
about the nature of my spirit
and the truth of who I am.
Maybe God will laugh when I leave the altar
for the market. Maybe God will
place his love for me into the fragrance of a rose.
Maybe a scent mysterious and potent
will reach me at the marketplace
and lift my thoughts to who I am
when who I’m not is taken by the wind.
BEFORE YOUR DOOR
O God, I wanted only
to bow down before your door.
And now that I have done so
I shall be sad no more.
You have fed me with your tender love
And held me in your arms.
And I have tasted heaven’s happiness
and all its blissful charms.
I shall not turn my face away
From heaven’s open door.
Nor shall I doubt the glory of
The joy you hold in store.
You will for me a life of gifts,
Just as you will light for the sun.
You will for me a journey
To the place where earthly clay and Christ are one.
O God, I wanted only
To bow down and kiss your feet.
I wanted only to be taken to the place
Where your unchanging love and my heart meet.
You are the source of all the laws
And though I live for just a day,
The bliss of loving every gift
Shall always grace my way.
The Magic Of Being
