All images created by Rebekah Marshall’s prompts using AI on Gencraft.com website.

I am reading Hafiz’s Little Book of Life, poetry by Hafiz-e Shirazi. He is challenging me to become more comfortable with ambiguity. I will share his poem and some of my thoughts on his poem (sometimes with the help of experts when the concepts are too hard for me), followed by a poem and some art inspired by his poem.

Hafiz’s Poem 15:

The tavern door’s been closed up Oh God

May this not open the door

To the house of hypocrisy & lies

Some thoughts:

When morality is legislated harshly and too conservatively, Hafiz seems to be implying, the stage is set for inauthenticity and deception. When we judge others for their faults, weaknesses, or perceived sins, we are focusing in the wrong direction. Don’t we have our own lives that need work? “I would never…” is the common refrain of the hypocrite. Many different religious traditions have examples of spiritual greatness being found in unexpected moments that would be perceived by others as sinful or improbable.

The weaponizing of purity destroys authentic community and honest communication and instead creates an atmosphere of performative righteousness. Appearances become more important than vulnerability, truth, or freedom. Pretension takes the place of connection. Control replaces joy and expression. And obedience replaces love. People tend to lie more when they have to hide their true selves.

My Poem 15 (This is of course facetious, a picture of hypocrisy.):

Praise the Lord
I am nothing
like those sinners
who break the law
to provide for their families.

I would never
because I was born
here in the land of the free
and am a good
religious person of faith.

People should accept
the fate they’ve been handed
with grace and obedience
instead of causing
problems for everyone else.

You’ll never see me
stealing resources
for myself and taking
advantage of a system
that is too soft on thieves.

Hafiz. Hafiz’s Little Book of Life. Translated by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2023.