by RUMI / Translated by Coleman Barks
One night a man was crying,
Allah! Allah!
His lips grew sweet with the praising,
until a cynic said,
“So! I have heard you
calling out, but have you ever
gotten any response?
The man had no answer to that.
He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep.
He dreamed he saw Khidr, the guide of souls,
in a thick, green foliage.
“Why did you stop praising?”
“Because I’ve never heard anything back.”
“This longing
you express is the return message.”
The grief you cry out from
draws you toward union.
Your pure sadness
that wants help
is the secret cup.
Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection.
There are love-dogs
no one knows the names of.
Give your life
to be one of them.
March 20, 2007 at 6:38 am
Go, Dog. Go!
Copyright 1961 P.D. Eastman
Dog.
Big dog.
Little dog.
Big dogs and little dogs.
Black and white dogs.
“Hello!”
“Hello!”
“Do you like my hat?”
“I do not.”
“Good-by!”
“Good-by!”
One little dog going in.
Three big dogs going out.
A red dog on a blue tree.
A blue dog on a red tree.
A green dog on a yellow tree.
Some big dogs and some little dogs
going around in cars.
A dog out of a car.
Two big dogs going up.
One little dog going down.
The green dog is up.
The yellow dog is down.
The blue dog is in.
The red dog is out.
One dog up on a house.
Three dogs down in the water.
A green dog over a tree.
A yellow dog under a tree.
Two dogs
in a house
on a boat
in the water.
A dog over the water.
A dog under the water.
“Hello again.”
“Hello again.”
“Do you like my hat?”
“I do not like it.”
“Good-by again.”
“Good-by.”
The dogs are all going
around, and around, and around.
“Go around again!”
The sun is up.
The sun is yellow.
The yellow sun is over the house.
“It is hot out here in the sun.”
“It is not hot here under the house.”
Now it is night.
Three dogs
at a party
on a boat
at night.
Dogs at work.
Work, dogs, work!
Dogs at play.
“Play, dogs, play!”
“Hello again.”
“Hello.”
“Do you like my hat?”
“I do not like that hat.”
“Good-by again.”
“Good-by!”
Dogs in cars again.
Going away.
Going away fast.
Look at those dogs go.
Go, dogs. Go!
“Stop, dogs. Stop!
The light is red now.”
“Go, dogs. Go!
The light is green now.”
Two dogs at play.
At play up on top.
“Go down, dogs.
Do not play up there.
Go down.”
Now it is night.
Night is not a time for play.
It is time for sleep.
The dogs go to sleep.
They will sleep all night.
Now it is day.
The sun is up.
Now is the time for all dogs to get up.
“Get up!”
It is day.
Time to get going.
Go, dogs. Go!
There they go.
Look at those dogs go!
Why are they going so fast in those cars?
What are they going to do?
Where are those dogs going?
Look where they are going.
They are all going to that
big tree over there.
Now the cars stop.
Now all the dogs get out.
And now look where those dogs are going!
To the tree! To the tree!
Up the tree!
Up the tree!
Up they go to the top of the tree.
Why?
Will they work there?
Will they play there?
What is up there on top of that tree?
A dog party!
A big dog party!
Big dogs, little dogs,
red dogs, blue dogs,
yellow dogs, green dogs,
black dogs, and white dogs
are all at a dog party!
What a dog party!
“Hello again.
And now do you like my hat?”
“I do.
What a hat!
I like it!
I like that party hat!”
“Good-by!”
“Good-by.”
May 23, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Start seeing everything as god
But keep it a secret
Become like a man who is awestruck
And Nourished
Listening to a golden nightingale sing
In a beautiful foreign language
As god sits invisibly upon its tongue
Hafiz, who can you tell in this world
That when a dog runs up to you
Wagging its ecstatic tail
You bend down and whisper in it’s ear
“Beloved, I am so glad that you are happy to see me
Beloved, I am so glad, so very glad that you have come”
- Hafiz (translation by Daniel Ladinsky)