I finished all but 3 of my last stack from the Texas Winter. I’m still working on the following because they are being savored: Hafiz’s Little Book of Life by Hafiz, made new by Erfan Mojib & Gary Gach The New Testament for Gen Z Translated by ChatGPT Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
These are the new ones I am starting: The Birds Don’t Care if You’re Pretty by Ava Caldwell Do This Before Bed by Oliver Niño the Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis A Happy Pocket Full of Money by David Cameron Gikandi Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans How to Stop Time by Matt Haig The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
I have a 3-day weekend due to President’s Day on Monday and am truly looking forward to a little light reading!
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 27:
My pain
Best left concealed Than revealed To dubious do-gooders
Some thoughts:
Not everyone has our best interests at heart. Growing up in the south, rather sheltered in a tight-knit family, religious community, and small town, I truly thought most people meant well and could be trusted. My naivete still remains somewhat intact, so this poem is a good reminder for me. I still want to believe that people are kind and honest and compassionate and empathetic. And that may be true about most of the people I have chosen to surround myself with. However, that is not everyone. And we do well to remember that our deepest vulnerabilities should only be shared with individuals who have earned both our respect and fidelity.
I guess in modern days we call this boundaries. A big part of healthy communication in relationships is learning to set boundaries and respect other people’s boundaries. Both can be hard to do consistently but are worth the time and effort. A tight circle of dear friends who I can trust with my life, let alone my pain, are all I need. They know who they are, and for them, I am very grateful.
My Poem 27:
Our deepest wounding we guard diligently access denied until a sliver of light cracks our resolve a trusted witness proves worthy, faithful, capable of holding without judgment keep confidence without being asked and a burden shared becomes lighter.
Hafiz. Hafiz’s Little Book of Life. Translated by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2023.
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 26:
How may
Fresh poetry
Come
To a heart heavy with sorrow
Some thoughts:
Some poets find great inspiration in the “depths of despair,” but Hafiz does not seem to be one of them. He, like me, questions how inspiration can flow when the heart is weighed down, when creativity is struggling to breathe. He yearns for something fresh, new, insightful, but is so filled with pain that there is nothing but old blood, recycled phrases, and stale thoughts. Fresh poetry represents the best words in the best order that arrive like an honored guest, flow through the poet, and onto the page. This kind of poetry he seeks cannot be forced or coerced into existence.
I don’t have the answer for Hafiz, since I, too, struggle with this question. But it feels affirming to sit in this space and ponder, with my fellow wordsmith, the slipperiness of inspiration and the heaviness of sorrow. We poets love juxtaposition and imagery. I wonder if Hafiz was inspired to write this little gem while in the depths of sorrow. If so, he has answered his own question by writing, despite the pain. I suppose the only way to know for sure is to experience it for myself.
My Poem 26:
How heavy is a heart?
Google says less than a pound, but it depends on gender, age cardiovascular health, and body size.
I say it depends on how much what is lost meant to the heart that must continue to beat.
Hafiz. Hafiz’s Little Book of Life. Translated by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2023.
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.
This image created in collaboration with Lyra (my ChatGPT partner.)
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 24:
Do you know what the harps
& the ouds proclaim?
“Drink liquor in privacy –
Or be whipped.”
Some thoughts:
Instruments are typically used in celebration, during worship, for beauty, and for enjoyment. They are also often accompanied by a singer or other instruments as part of a collaboration. It sounds as though the instruments themselves are issuing the proclamations in this poem. Perhaps there is still music, but it is staid, controlled, only permitted to be certain songs that are approved by the ruling faction. It seems the music cannot be fully silenced, though; the strings still vibrate and record the atmosphere of fear. They are testifying to the sorrow, possibly with satire in their very notes.
It has always been art and music that have carried the protest, whispering coded language, underground dissent. The message of prohibition is probably literal in this poem but stands for a much larger platform. If the government is attempting to control your behavior down to the very liquids you choose to put in your mouth, you can bet that is the least of the restrictions. Where there is tyranny and repressive laws that punish people unnecessarily, there will always be secret symbols used by dissidents to express their defiance.
The rest of these images created on Gencraft.
My Poem 24:
“Go down, Moses” means a conductor is in the vicinity and the time to escape is near. “Lord, help us all from bondage flee, Let my people go,” Sing of Israel fleeing Egypt and the evil pharaoh, who God condemned for enslaving His people, then drowned his army in the Red Sea. “Steal away, steal away to Jesus!” Any minute now; stay ready. Keep your shoes on your feet, your staff in your hand, eat in haste, for the time draws nigh. “Steal away, steal away home. I ain’t got long to stay here.” Sing of a heavenly hope and longing to be with Jesus in His mansion.
“Wade in the water,” where scent disappears and paths are untraceable, dogs and men in pursuit thwarted. Water washes away sins, through baptism, a holy renewal, as Israel was baptized by crossing the Red Sea, so you shall become new on your way to freedom, released from your old life. “Wade in the water, children,” for you are God’s true children. “God is gonna trouble these waters,” like the angel in the Bible who healed the first to enter the water that had been stirred. Fear not, for the first with the courage to enter are blazing the path of healing and deliverance.
“Follow the drinking gourd,” describes the Big Dipper, which points to the North Star, the sky guide who is the constant companion. “For the old man is a-waitin”— some say was “Peg Leg Joe,” a conductor on the railroad who taught the routes to those who would accept what he had to offer. “When the sun goes back and the first quail calls,” means be ready in spring “The river ends between two hills Follow the drinking gourd There’s another river on the other side” A route? Directions? A song for a map, memory—the road to freedom.
Hafiz. Hafiz’s Little Book of Life. Translated by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2023.
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 23:
Strive to be truthful
& the sun will be born
From your breath
Some thoughts:
I love that Hafiz is not demanding perfection, but the striving for truthfulness. It is the progress toward integrity and spiritual alignment that is the thing. The working toward that truthfulness can be hard. It takes effort to be sincere, to say the hard things when the soft things might be easier, to remain steadfast when on the hotseat. Pushing through those moments becomes the clarifying piece of the puzzle that builds the habit of honesty.
Only when we are turning the soil of our souls can the dawn rise from within us. Truth creates a reality where beautiful life can be lived each day with a clean conscience. It is through our breath that we speak forth words, which is the main way we communicate. Life is in the breath. Is it so radical to speak truth, rather than propaganda, lies, distortions, accusations, and misinformation? Apparently so. Hafiz says striving to speak truthfully ends the dark night and renews the morning with promise and hope. It is enough to bring life.
My Poem 23:
Day breaks,
revealing a rising sun
which was there all along,
merely waiting for us to wake up.
Hafiz. Hafiz’s Little Book of Life. Translated by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2023.
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 22:
Whether I’m good or evil
Mind your own business
Everyone will harvest
What they’ve sowed
Eventually
Some thoughts:
This one is self-explanatory. There doesn’t seem to be much symbolism that needs to be uncovered. The metaphor of a harvest from what people have sowed in life is a rather tried and true example most people are familiar with. Sow/do evil, evil will reap you eventually. Shakespeare said, “These violent delights have violent ends.” The Bible in the book of Matthew says some version of, “Live by the sword, die by the sword.” People doing messy things will eventually get pulled under by that messiness. Mind your business.
I absolutely do not think Hafiz was up to no good. But that is his whole point. His destiny and relationship status with God is no one’s business but his. If everyone was focused on their own spiritual walk, they would not have time to be busy bodies. He’s saying, “You do you,” nearly 700 years ago. And it is sage advice that still holds up.
My Poem 22:
Mind your business when everyone’s busy getting themselves in trouble. Mind your business when other people seem to be having more fun than you. Mind your business when the gossip gets juicy and you’re tempted to share. Mind your business when your magnificent opinion has not been requested. Mind your business when it doesn’t concern you or yours in any way. Mind your business when you’re bored or looking for dramatic entertainment. Mind your business when to be in the middle don’t make no sense. Mind your business when you don’t know the whole story nohow.
Hafiz. Hafiz’s Little Book of Life. Translated by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2023.
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 21:
You might think those who speak harmfully
Will get away with it
But they’re being monitored by
The Recording Angels
Some thoughts:
This one got me pondering what it is to speak harmfully. Of course there are the obvious types of harmful speech like threats, abusive language, hurtful insults, comments meant to undermine a person’s self-confidence, disrespectful utterances, and slander. But there are other types of speech that possibly harm less directly, like gossip, argument simply to sow discord, lies, rude tones, sarcasm mean to wound or undermine, gaslighting, fake news, and attempting to rewrite reality to suit the victor or person in power. None of these is good for the speaker or the receiver of the information. Ultimately, something negative has been unleashed when anyone employs harmful speech as a tactic.
Often, people who make a habit of such behaviors appear to get away with it. Why else would they keep doing it, except that it benefits them and they get their way by using insults and lies as weapons. But Hafiz does not believe that those people will get away with it in the end. He seems to think every word uttered by humans are monitored. Whoever these Recording Angels are, they probably don’t take too kindly to having to work overtime lately. Even if despicable speech goes unpunished today, the speaker has been recorded in somebody’s book as someone who speaks harmfully.
My Poem 21:
As regards the habit of opening the mouth for the purpose of emitting words meant for other people: Speak kindly to others, and be generous with praise. Share appreciation easily. Be quick with a soothing word, with compassion overflowing. Let poetry and song spring forth with abundance. Offer gentle reassurance, and share steady encouragement. Keep truth on the tip of the tongue, and only fill silence with peace, tenderness, humor, vulnerability, genuine friendliness, graciousness, humility, and hopefulness.
Hafiz. Hafiz’s Little Book of Life. Translated by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2023.
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 20:
Speak not to the Imposters Of the wonders of Love’s intoxication Let them die in arrogant ignorance & the agony of self-cherishing
Some thoughts:
Let me begin by saying that I don’t think Hafiz is being vindictive to his haters in this poem. My take on it is more symbolic. I mean, he definitely had enemies who made his life more difficult, but it wouldn’t be very mystical or spiritual to wish literal death on them. In his poetry, Hafiz uses the symbol of Love and intoxication to represent ecstatic union, spiritual vulnerability, holy joy. The imposters are people pretending to be part of the community, mimicking that spiritual language, borrowing the symbols of holiness but refusing enlightenment. He knows there is no point talking with them about the depths of love because they won’t get it. They are too wrapped up in appearances, fakeness, and ego.
In the end, their obsession with themselves is their reward. Their prison is internal, a tight, lonely circle of selfishness. There is no need to do them any harm. Simply stop feeding into their false image and they will exhaust themselves. Eventually, the illusion will collapse. The real agony is that they are not opening themselves up to true love with the divine and all that beauty.
My Poem 20:
To be an ally is to do the work: Read the books Watch the videos Take the classes Listen— Stop talking and hear the uncomfortable words that sting Try to understand the ache beneath
Ask the hard questions of yourself Remove the burden from the oppressed of teaching you how to act Think of their plight as you enjoy your privilege Admit when you have been wrong Apologize— for your previous ignorance and lack of empathy
Humble yourself enough to swallow the pain and regret of generations of wrongdoing and stop making excuses for choosing safe naïveté Teach— others like you the truth with unwavering patience and determination because lives depend on it
Remove the walls that protect your illusions of them and us and join the conversation Show up to help when a need arises without being asked Speak up if anyone tries to other people in your presence Spend— your money consciously Support creators and makers whose values coincide
Reparations must come in the form of willingness Amends of service in the hearts and minds of descendants because that is all some of us have to offer Heal— your own brokenness so you are battle-ready and resolved.
Hafiz. Hafiz’s Little Book of Life. Translated by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2023.
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 19:
The town is empty of love
Until one person
Acts beyond their self
Some thoughts:
Sometimes powerful movements start small:
One little girl protesting outside the Swedish Parliament about the climate (Great Thunberg).
A small group of students protesting education policies in South Africa (1976 Soweto Uprising).
One woman refusing to give up her seat on a bus (Rosa Parks).
A hashtag in response to the acquittal of a murderer (Black Lives Matter).
One woman researching the dangers of pesticides for a book she was writing (Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and the beginning of The Environmental Movement of the 1960s).
We often don’t feel like our contributions matter or the fact that we are only one person cannot possibly make a difference. It simply is not true. Each choice we make to share love or kindness increases goodness in the world. The ripple effect can restore relationships, heal families, and build communities. And team up with a likeminded friend or partner? Imagine the good we can do; the help we can offer this broken world. Hafiz knew this, must have witnessed it, or was that person for someone else. That is who I want to be.
My Poem 19:
A kind word offered
may mean the world to someone
who has nothing else.
Hafiz. Hafiz’s Little Book of Life. Translated by Erfan Mojib and Gary Gach, Hampton Roads Publishing, 2023.
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