Monday, March 19, 2012

Mystical Mondays: Rumi learns by watching and listening to a squirrel



Translations by Daniel Ladinsky


What appealed to me in this poem is many a thing:  it made us laugh and reminded me of my favorite prayer, the Examen.  At night when I sit down to pray, I do it as if I was starting a conversation with a good friend, because really, what other kind of relationship with God do I want to have.  Also I am thinking it would be a grand thing that a benefit to saying grace is that my dinner will taste better.



Hey


The grass beneath the tree is content
and silent.

A squirrel holds an acorn in its praying hands,
offering thanks, it looks like.

The nut tastes sweet; I bet the prayer spiced
it up somehow.

The broken shells fall on the grass,
and the grass looks up
and says,
"Hey."

And the squirrel looks down
and says,

"Hey."

I Have been saying "Hey" lately too,
to God.

Formalities just weren't
working. 


Rumi

4 comments:

  1. Wonderful poem, thanks for the Rumi. I like the last line particularly Formalities just weren't working.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. That line is splendid and caught my eye

      Delete

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