Troubled?
Then stay with me, for I am not…
Write all that worries you on a piece of parchment;
offer it to God.
Even from the distance of a millennium.
I can lean the flame in my heart
into your life
and turn
all that frightens you
into holy
incense
ash.
Hafiz
trans. By Daniel Ladinsky
______________________________
Troubled?
Oh yes, I am
With the mind racing
heart pounding
gut-wrenching fear
that comes in hospital wards
as the word cancer is
whispered
with that anxiety that comes
from watching helpless
as the beloved fade
weaken
die
There is so much to fear
illness and decline
malign powers
that tear apart the fabric of empathy
and drown compassion
a pervasive greed that
never experiences
enough
but devours all
and still remains unsated
there is nothing one can do
but lean
into the divine
allowing it to embrace
and hold
comfort
restore
allowing it to burn away
the chaff
of fear, anger, hate, prejudice
all
that destroys love
lean until the warmth
of embrace
empowers
not with the malign power
of evil, for some power is evil
but with the power
that comforts
and restores
Ah, may we be devoured
by love
may Sacred kindle us
until we flame out
shining
until our hearts are no longer troubled
and our lives become
an offering
a sacrifice
pleasing to God
the presence
of love
transforming
all
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