Becoming Human

Once a man came to me and spoke for hours about
"His great visions of God" he felt he was having.

He asked me for confirmation, saying,
"Are these wondrous dreams true?"

I replied, "How many goats do you have?"

He looked surprised and said,
"I am speaking of sublime visions
And you ask
About goats!"

And I spoke again saying,
"Yes, brother - how many do you have?"

"Well, Hafiz, I have sixty-two."

"And how many wives?"
Again he looked surprised, then said,
"Four."

"How many rose bushes in your garden,
How many children,
Are your parents still alive,
Do you feed the birds in winter?"

And to all he answered.

Then I said,
"You asked me if I thought your visions were true,
I would say that they were if they make you become
More human,

More kind to every creature and plant
That you know."

i am done reading hafiz, and the gita translation as well. 2 down and 6 to go (my reading list for the break). except, not really. both of these are works i wish to return to daily. they are fodder for the soul. this morning, as i decided to share one of hafiz's masterpieces with you, i thought, "i'm sure i could pick a page at random and it would give me a poem that i'd be inspired to share." exactly that happened. here you are, then. this is all you need to know.

isn't it?