My Sweet, Crushed Angel

You have not danced so badly, my dear,
Trying to hold hands with the Beautiful One.

You have waltzed with great style,
My sweet, crushed angel,
To ever have neared God's Heart at all.

Our Partner is notoriously difficult to follow,
And even His musicians are not always easy
To hear.

So what if the music has stopped for a while.

So what
If the price of admission to the Divine
Is out of reach tonight.

So what, my dear,
If you do not have the ante to gamble for Real Love.

The mind and the body are famous
For holding the heart ransom,
But Hafiz knows the Beloved's eternal habits.

Have patience,

For He will not be able to resist your longing
For long.

You have not danced so badly, my dear,
Trying to kiss the Beautiful One.

You have actually waltzed with tremendous style,
O my sweet,
O my sweet, crushed angel.

Translation by Daniel Ladinsky

Recently one of my best friends posted a different poem from Hafiz (or Hafez, depending on translation), a Persian poet from the 1300s, and I was shocked and thrilled to see it.  I first discovered Hafiz when I was at Cornell from a post in Dear Uncle Ezra, which was an advice column for students to anonymously submit queries ranging from a simple question to complex and emotional issues. A student had wrote in, begging for a reason not to commit suicide; which unfortunately happens all too often, particularly at that age and confronted with the stressors of a high-achieving student who finds the transition to an independent life away from parents and previous social support difficult.

I found this post because I was in a similar situation and reaching out anywhere I could to make sense of what was happening to me.  I wish I could link to Uncle Ezra's response because it touched me deeply, but the service has been removed from the web and there seem to be no archives available, but here is what I remember of it.

He imagined the student lying at peace in a green field, with blue sky above and having time to truly appreciate who he is and everything he contributes to the world, his friends, and all others that he interacts with.  The potential in his future is still blazing bright despite depression, setbacks, or doubts, and there is a reminder of hope for the future and that there is still so much more to come in his life.  And then he quoted this poem.

I will never know who that student was or even who replied to him since Uncle Ezra's identity was also anonymous, but the incredible, sensitive, and insightful response to that question has resonated with me many times even 15 years later.  Hafiz managed to capture, not just in this poem but in many of his works, an indescribable mix of understanding the human psyche and the anguish that is part of living, but instead of accepting or wallowing in this state, having the courage to stand up again and start searching for the joys and strength to counterbalance our pain and strive to feel at peace and at one with the universe.

I need to remind myself of this more often.  It's one of the best lessons to learn, taught from a most unexpected source.