Tag Archives: hypocrisy

Essays, Writing

Hafiz – Poem 38

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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 38:

I’m not the color of hypocrisy
Either I am a red lion
Or a black serpent

Some thoughts:

I must admit that I am not at all certain of my interpretation of this one. It certainly seems to be along the similar vein of lukewarm water that is repugnant in the Bible verse of the New Testament. Be hot or cold, confident and decisive, real and certain, as opposed to waffling and on the fence. It reminds me a bit of the quote by Yann Martel in Life of Pi when the main character says, “It is not atheists who get stuck in my craw, but agnostics. Doubt is useful for a while…but we must move on. To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.” I do not agree with that take, but understand the passion behind the utterance.

The sentiment I do agree with is that of being authentic rather than performative. Whatever the red lion and black serpent represent, they are the poet’s honest opinions. He is claiming that he will not speak untruth merely to save face or impress a certain crowd. Though the opinion may not be well received, might be complex, might be considered too intense, or venture into unsanctioned territory, he would rather speak his truth than be false or diluted.

I’m sorry, good teacher, but I am quite the fence sitter about some things. It is not always a comfortable position to be in, and one might argue, requires balance, a level head, and an open mind. We will have to agree to disagree for now, though that would also require fence-sitting, so you probably would not agree. lol

My Poem 38:

Rippling ember mane
flows like sun-blood
from roaring flame,
molten courage lava hot,
intense burning marrow
dissolves any tangled knot.

Coiled hidden spine,
a dark river eclipsed
by shadowed night,
deep as space unseen
conceals sudden movement,
striking stragglers of the in between.

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

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Harcourt, 2001.

The Bible. Authorized King James Version, Oxford UP, 1998.

Poetry, Writing

Hafiz – Poem 25

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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 25:

Dear Hafiz

Drink up
Be a free soul
Make merry
But don’t make the Qur’an
Bait for hypocrisy
As others have done

Some thoughts:

Is it so wrong to “Eat, drink, and be merry?” Some religious people act as though being spiritual or loving God means having to be a stick in the mud and forego all fun. Hafiz is addressing this poem to himself as a reminder that he has the freedom to enjoy the abundance the world has to offer. He is not restricted and litigious about his beliefs. But on the other hand, freedom with grace is not license to debauchery either. There is a balance that must be walked like a tightrope if one is to maintain a life of love and spiritual connection.

His belief in freedom must not be taken to excess, which could make his faith seem like a farse. There must be some level of respect for the holiness of the prescribed religious doctrines and those who adhere to them meticulously. There is no need to flaunt the merry making in the face of someone who is weeping. Finding a path that respects personal spiritual autonomy and still honors the traditions and beliefs of the ancestors is not always easy. But being in community means grappling with these truths and finding a balance that works.

My Poem 25:

I think dusting intentionally
can be meditative,
spiritual,
removing the layers of past ancestors
to reveal
a shiny surface
uncluttered
by so much static noise.

Dimming the lights
and lighting a candle,
watering a plant,
petting a cat.

I’ve yet to wipe
my dog’s weeping eye
and feel nothing
because she stares
into my soul,
communing,
as if with the source
of love.

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

Poetry, Writing

Hafiz – Poem 16

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Iimages 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 16:

Those preachers
Who appear glorious
In pulpits & on altars
Yet in private
Act totally the opposite

Some thoughts:

When I was growing up, televangelists were all the rage. It was the era of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart. Televised preachers could paint a picture of righteousness and convince millions of people to send them money. Their private lives were not so righteous. The reality was filled with scandal, corruption, and behaviors that were quite the opposite of the messages they were preaching.

I guess the platform was a newly designed sort of soap box, but the concept was nothing new. There have always been those who will profit off a public perception of holiness, but it is merely a performance. Perhaps humanity should learn not to put others on soap boxes and accept that everyone is human, faulty, and corruptible.

Jimmy Swaggart from YouTube video (link below.)

My Poem 16:

“Those that climb to the highest heights spiritually can fall to the lowest depths.”

In a baby blue 3-piece suit.
Pacing back and forth,
then planting himself in a wide
spread-eagle stance like
he’s doing the most powerful
power pose he can think of.

“As faulty worship caused death then, it can cause death now.”

In a sing-song, monotone,
ever-crescendoing
preacher cadence.

“You are obligated before God to walk holy and to walk righteous before an adulterous and wicked generation that’s dying and going to hell.”

The audience breaks out in applause.
Why are we clapping?
Because people are going to hell?
Because we are being obliged
to be better than them?
I’m confused.

“We just started a ball team, and I told them, I said, If girls show up on that ball diamond with shorts on, I will appreciate you and do everything I can to help you in Jesus, but I’ll send you home to get some clothes on.”

Even bigger round of applause.
Again, what are we clapping for?
Jimmy Swaggart’s admission
that he will lust after young girls
if they are wearing shorts?
What in the hell?

He speaks of himself in the 3rd person.

“Jimmy Swaggart, you’re preaching that in California? Are you out of your mind?”

He holds a Bible aloft to demonstrate
that “this doesn’t change” even if things
have changed in the rest of the world.

“You may look at me like a calf lookin’ at a new gate and preachers may get off behind my back and snicker, but I’m going to preach what this word says.”

He won’t kick you out of the church.
He’ll pray for you, sit with your sick,
wipe your brow, cry and weep for you,
but he will tell you what “thus sayeth the Lord.”

I guess the Lord says
He doesn’t like girls
on ball diamonds
wearing shorts.

“Faulty Fire, Faulty workship Jimmy Swaggart preaching on Holiness”, mdministries, YouTube, posted Jun 24, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCKrCtdC2oA&list=PLrkXHJifFX4dMJIZt_26b3bwgib_EPwiD

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

Poetry, Writing

Hafiz – Poem 15

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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.