selfishness

Exert not thyself

... in amassing of wealth,

for evil is the smell

... of stagnant water; strive

rather, to be generous,

... for running water

becomes a flood. "

- Shaykh Sa'adi Shirazi ( from: Gulistan )

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When we hug to ourselves

In fear

In greed

In hatred

When we hug to ourselves

A say “go to hell” to everyone else

We close off the flow of Spirit and love

At both ends

Nothing in

Nothing out

And soon

Rot, rot

Fester, fester

Soon the smell of decay

Drifts across the landscape of our lives

The landscape of our nation

As surely as the smell of unwashed bodies

And dirty diapers drifts from

The gulags of America