SHEDDING THE SUPERFICIAL

answer them,
not as yourself,
but as wisdom
or starlight
or the first dream
ever dreamed.

name yourself
for them
and through them.
call yourself
rahman,
salam,
karim,
wadud,
shifa,
rahim

for with this Love will be made,
angry hearts will fill with compassion,
blame will be softened and transformed into mercy,
disease of heart, mind, body and soul
will be healed by the One who Heals,
greed will be forgotten in gifts of charity,
the oppressed will be set free.
spread the blessings of Allah everywhere!

we are not Him,
but He is there
as every cell
and atom
surrenders to Him.
Assalam Alaykum
to all,

to my brothers,
my sisters,
to our teachers,
to lovers of Allah,
to my Buddhist, Zoraostrian,
Sikh, Christian, Jewish
and pagan neighbors
who know kindness,
love, mercy and peace.

in the Oneness of Love,
we will be kin.

whether you are Muslim
or atheist, far or near,
angry or peaceful,
blameworthy or saintly,
i share with you
my bread,

humanity,
i share so that you will know
we are all one family,
Loved,
Loving,
Lovers,
touched by the Beloved...

Love is all there is.
Amin,
So Be It,
Amen.

What Made Me Humble

i curled myself up,
blossom backtracking into bud,
opened my heart and let it bleed,
tender is this refusal to become any more.
i waited a lifetime to be the rose
or the smell of the grass after
a thunderstorm or the sound
of the leaves in autumn
or lovers as they
love.
but, God...
here in your arms,
i am.
i am.

written while reading a dying priest's poem (last revised on 6/14/08)

all i know is i
expected beauty
in his description
of dying.
why was he smiling?

a pastor has a gift,
i thought as i rewound the words
verse by verse. read it again
from the beginning

"to read this poem,"
he writes,
"remember you are dying, too."

and if we are all dying,
why waste words on moonlight?
and it was as if he were reading my mind.
even a priest, in the midst of it
looks into the face of death and says
not yet.
not yet.

he opened the book back up
and said read it, this time
as if it is your dying heart's last wish.

i am here at my desk,
pen in hand, hoping to create a word for this.
there isn't one. i read your poem again
and when i'm done, i look and there it is.

the moon is making love!
why did it never tell me
it's secret? why won't it tell
me the ones you hide in your words?
here i am.
alone,
afraid,
alive.
and after forty seven years on earth,
i still have so much to learn.
death is a teacher,
and in the end, the student
learns through layers
over and over and over again.

(this is a very rough draft, not sure it is ready to be here so it will probably be revised and revised for awhile).

Sister, Sister

(lyrics)

my song for you waits here,
we have never met. yes,
we have, we have never met,
yes we have. they sing
in a language that is foreign
to my ear, but the melody
reaches into my heart,
clear as a bell, i hear
you are crying, i listen
to your tears. sister, i am here.

*chorus*
sister sister drums call
from my heart to yours.
you have never known peace
and i have never known war.
sister sister drums call;
feel me so prayerful,
i reach around the world
to help.
to help.
sister sister how how how?

my guitar played a happy tune,
until your heartbreak broke through.
i am listening for answers now,
i am listening so closely now.
why have you gone silent?
why can't i hear?
is it my ears? or are you gone?
sister sister where are you now?

*chorus*
sister sister drums call
from my heart to yours.
you have never known peace
and i have never known war.
sister sister drums call;
feel me so prayerful,
i reach around the world
to help.
to help.
sister sister how how how?

they tell me we are enemies.
they tell me there can't be peace
until all the soldiers come home.
bring them home. bring them home now.
you're not alone; we are one family.
sisters, brothers, daughters, fathers,
cousins, uncles, strangers, friends,
doctors, teachers, poets, farmers,
shepherds. in all this, there are
men and women young and old,
babies and children, orphaned
because no one knows how
to make these battles end.

*chorus*
sister sister drums call
from my heart to yours.
you have never known peace
and i have never known war.
sister sister drums call;
feel me so prayerful,
i reach around the world
to help.
to help.
sister sister how how how?