Equivalent, by Alfred Stieglitz
Some gnats come from the grass to speak with Solomon.
O Solomon, you are the champion of the oppressed.
You give justice to the little guys, and they don't get
any littler than us. We are tiny metaphors
for frailty. Can you defend us?
Who has mistreated you?
Our complaint is against the wind.
Well, says Solomon, you have pretty voices,
you gnats, but remember, a judge cannot listen
to just one side. I must hear both litigants.
Of course, agree the gnats.
Summon the East Wind, calls out Solomon,
and the wind arrives almost immediately.
What happened to the gnat plaintiffs? gone.
Such is the way of every seeker who comes to complain
at the High Court. When the presence of God arrives,
where are the seekers? First there's dying,
then union, like gnats inside the wind.
I wonder what the words would appear to say if coiled up to matching base pairs but read linear.
ReplyDeleteor
If keys A through G told where to use specific letters as only "book ends" when a mirror makes symmetry (g|a, d|b, j|f, d|p, q|b, cl|b) and not to use those ends as part of pronouncing words but rather using only the letters of the spaces in between.
and
all the pitfalls that seem to make sense yet the world still is lacking full disclosure
but
how do I know they won't zap me out of existence for revealing what was hidden if telling means all can see
The line 'We are tiny metaphors for frailty' is brilliant. I think of Solomon as the great arbiter of disputes, and here's Rumi describing it all so well. Thanks, Ruth.
ReplyDeleteI own all of the Rumi books and I can't get enough of his words. Great post. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThis is a matter of connections...I have begun to carry your work in my reader because of who you visit. Erin is one of my highest blog friends. Elisabeth from Australia has my admiration as a wordsmith. I read your main blog just now and love how you looked at Paris. The fellow now calling himself "who" is a recent friend. You are intersected and when I googled you, also very easy to find.
ReplyDeleteI am more a Hafiz man (as placed before us by Ladinsky) than a Rumi man but the Sufi cosmos is real for me.