Waiting and Watching
“Every cry of the heart
is attended by light’s own arms.”
-St. Francis of Assisi
Today,
it was the quivering leaves
of the oak tree
glimmering in the sun
and the frayed gray kite string
tangled in its branches
that finally pried open
my resistant heart.
I knew that if I sat here
in silence for long enough,
Light would find me.
By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith
Thank you,
Yes!
Perfect
TY Maria
St. Francis, a Christian, and Rumi, a Muslim, are saying the same thing — that the longing for the ease of suffering opens the heart to connection with Source. I love that you mention stillness and silence as key to opening to this connection to “light”, and the simple truth that it — sweet, divine mystery — can and will reach towards you.
“Love Dogs
One night a man was crying,
Allah! Allah!
His lips grew sweet with the praising,
until a cynic said,
“So! I have heard you
calling out, but have you ever
gotten any response?”
The man had no answer to that.
He quit praying and fell into a confused sleep.
He dreamed he saw Khidr, the guide of souls,
in a thick, green foliage.
“Why did you stop praising?”
“Because I’ve never heard anything back.”
“This longing
you express is the return message.”
The grief you cry out from
draws you toward union.
Your pure sadness
that wants help
is the secret cup.
Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection.
There are love dogs
no one knows the names of.
Give your life
to be one of them.”
― Jalaluddin Rumi
Yes! At the deepest level, these religions are so common. As my father-in-law used to say “Same underground river, different wells.” It is so interesting that you posted this Rumi poem. Believe it or not, this poem took me all week to write, even though it is so simple. I knew what I wanted to say, but I was coming at it the wrong way. Finally, I was sitting, waiting, looking out the window and saw this tree and boom, I had it. I wrote it in only two drafts. But as I was writing, my dog was downstairs and kept whining. I called her but she didn’t come and finally I went down to check on her and she was sitting on the front porch behind the screen door and couldn’t get in. I had to chuckle because I thought- while I am waiting, kind of whining for Light to find me, she is doing the same thing. Divine mystery, indeed. Thank you for commenting.