Thanks and Welcome

[Guest guest]

Thanks Michael, Jerry, Jerry, Amanda, Gloria, Bruce, Mike, Mark, Dharma,

Antoine, Holly, Pieter, Greg, Andrew, Christina, Matt, Linda, and so many

others for your posts. Love the wisdom, warmth and the humor here. It is

nice to be with you and I am looking forward to meeting many of you on the

retreat this coming weekend. There are plans for fellowship and telling of

stories. I wanted to share with you a poem of Rumi.

 

I will post the poem to NDS as well.

 

Love to all

Harsha

 

 

I WAS READY TO TELL

the story of my life

but the ripple of tears

and the agony of my heart

wouldn't let me

 

i began to stutter

saying a word here and there

and all along i felt

as tender as a crystal

ready to be shattered

 

in this stormy sea

we call life

all the big ships

come apart

board by board

 

how can i survive

riding a lonely

little boat

with no oars

and no arms

 

my boat did finally break

by the waves

and i broke free

as i tied myself

to a single board

 

though the panic is gone

i am now offended

why should i be so helpless

rising with one wave

and falling with the next

 

i don't know

if i am

nonexistence

while i exist

but i know for sure

when i am

i am not

but

when i am not

then i am

 

now how can i be

a skeptic

about the

resurrection and

coming to life again

 

since in this world

i have many times

like my own imagination

died and

been born again

 

that is why

after a long agonizing life

as a hunter

i finally let go and got

hunted down and became free

 

~Rumi, ghazal number 1419,

translated April 17, 1991,

by Nader Khalili