Poems
Dear soul, Love alone cuts arguments short,
for it alone comes to the rescue
when you cry for help against disputes.
Eloquence is dumbfounded by Love: it dares not wrangle,
for the lover fears that, if he answers back,
the pearl of inner experience might fall out of his mouth.
Rumi
This song of mine will wind its music around you,
my child, like the fond arms of love.
The song of mine will touch your forehead
like a kiss of blessing.
When you are alone it will sit by your side and
whisper in your ear; when you are in the crowd
it will fence you about with aloofness.
My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams;
it will transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.
It will be like the faithful star overhead
when dark night is over your road.
My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes,
and will carry your sight into the heart of things.
And when my voice is silenced in death,
my voice will speak in your living heart.
Rabindranath Tagore
Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.
Therefore wise men embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
They shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
They are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never falter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say,
“Yield and overcome.”
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.
Lao-Tse, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 22
Trembling I sit by day and night,
my friends are astonished at me,
Yet they forgive my wanderings.
I rest not from my great task!
To open the Eternal Worlds,
to open the immortal Eyes
Of Man inwards into the Worlds of Thought,
into Eternity
Ever expanding in the Bosom of God,
then Human Imagination.
O Saviour pour upon me thy Spirit of meekness and love!
Annihilate the Selfhood in me: be thou my life!
William Blake