Even after all this time
the sun never says to the earth,
"You owe Me."

Look what happens with
a love like that,
It lights the Whole Sky.

-Hafiz
from The Gift

Oh, faithless heart
do not betray me.

Do not break me
and the hearts of those I love.

My heart has broken
a thousand times
each poignantly unique
and crushing

My heart has healed
a thousand times
stronger
and more full of love

My heart does not wait
in hope
it clings
so that I am not lost

And I too am breathless
with belief
that all that has come before
has been to lead me here

I hear the trees sleeping
in hushed, rustling tones
soothed by the wind's gentle kisses
and the ancient lullaby of the stars

I am resurrected
by the sunlight of a new day

I warm
with hope transparent
as the softened yellow of a butterfly's wing

I flush
eager with the joy
of violet-red flowers
grown glorious by the holding
of their own light

The mountains caught the clouds
With no grasping, no trickery,
No conniving or pleading

Faithful mountain
How is it that a wayward cloud
Would leave the sky
To mingle with your peaks and crags
To brush against your rocky sides?

Searching soul
Belonging has the power to catch without reaching.

It's the one whose words should heal us
that wound us most deeply.