Sufi Poetry: "A Love Like That" by Elizabeth Barrette

[ysabetwordsmith]

As you can see in the previous post, Rumi is one of my favorite poets. His ecstatic awareness tends to color my desert poetry. I have a fantasy setting, the Whispering Sands desert, that uses some Middle Eastern motifs. The poetry for that setting has a very Sufi flavor, although the underlying cosmology isn't all the same. This poem originally appeared in Emerging Visions.

A Love Like That
by Elizabeth Barrette

The rain falls on thirsty ground,
And the clouds do not ask for their water back.

The shadow stretches across the sand,
And the grove does not ask for its shade back.

The tide climbs up the empty beach,
And the sea does not ask for its salt back.

The wind roves over the open dunes,
And the air does not ask for its breath back.

The stars shine in the endless sky,
And the night does not ask for its light back.

The sand pours through the glass,
And the day does not ask for its hours back.

Imagine a love like that, and you will begin
To understand how God thinks of you.

Comments

[bookblather]

Oh, this is lovely. Seriously, just... lovely.

I have a book where I keep poetry that particularly speaks to me for one reason or another. May I copy this poem into it?

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Oh, this is lovely. Seriously, just... lovely.<<

I'm glad you like it.

>>I have a book where I keep poetry that particularly speaks to me for one reason or another. May I copy this poem into it?<<

Yes, go ahead.

I've built up quite a lot of desert poetry over the years, but only a handful of pieces are online.

This one is kind of a love poem, about an awkward relationship:
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/1302550.html

This one is about death:
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/1407815.html

Re: Thank you!

[bookblather]

Thank you very much for permission! My book is for me and me alone; I promise it will not infringe on any of your rights.

And I will be sure to look into those poems later.