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Lectio + Haiku -- February 2008
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Haiku
It don't mean a thing
until the fat lady sings
us to the exits.
-- Greg, Seattle
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No atom is free —
The cosmic dance begs Order
and Order sets free.
-- Brad, Port Townsend
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Do earth
and sun dance,
or is the one a goldfish,
each turn a surprise?
-- Greg, Seattle
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A fresh sweet truth sounds,
whispers on the spring wind’s dance —
now my soul flies free.
-- Merryl, Seattle
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My soul expands on
the wind of God, drifting o’er
mountains, field & stream.
-- Suzanna, Seattle
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I give thanks for life
with each atom of my being.
This life—sweet as honey.
-- Wanda, Seattle
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Hear the soft call flow
Where the sound of water springs
Drums the source of life.
-- Jeff, Seattle
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Source
bring your Presence
Whisper of eternity,
O hurry, hurry!
-- Maia Rose K., Seattle
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Her soul
drums hawk flight
with the fresh wind of God.
Rise up now, leap free.
-- Maia Rose K., Seattle
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The
hawk’s wings speak life.
The fish beats the water.
My words are my offering.
-- Margaret, In the Courtyard
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During a workshop at the East West Bookshop
in Seattle, participants wrote haiku in response to
this poem by Rumi, the 13th Century Sufi mystic poet.
HURRY TO THE SOURCE OF LIFE
How could the soul not take flight
When from the glorious Presence
A soft call flows sweet as honey, comes right up to her
And whispers, “Rise up now, come away.”
How could the fish not jump
Immediately from dry land into water
When the sound of water from the ocean
Of fresh waves springs to his ear?
How could the hawk not fly away
Forgetful of all hunting to the wrist of the king
As soon as he hears the drum
The king’s baton hits again and again,
Drumming out the signal of return?
How could the Sufi not start to dance,
Turning on himself, like the atom, in the sun of eternity,
So he can leap free of this dying world?
Fly away, fly away bird to your native home,
You have leapt free of the cage
Your wings are flung back in the wind of God.
Leave behind the stagnant and marshy waters,
Hurry, hurry, hurry O bird, to the Source of Life!
-- Rumi, from The Essential
Mystics,
edited by Andrew Harvey,
HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.
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