The Sun in Drag

Here’s a poem by Hafiz translated by Daniel Ladinsky in The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the Great Sufi Master.

You are the Sun in drag.
You are God hiding from yourself.
Remove all the ‘mine’ – that is the veil.
Why ever worry about anything?
Listen to what your friend Hafiz
Knows for certain:
The appearance of this world
Is a Magi’s brilliant trick, though its affairs are
Nothing into nothing.
You are a divine elephant with amnesia
Trying to live in an ant
Hole.
Sweetheart, O sweetheart
You are God in Drag!
— Hafiz

Seems like a fitting enlightenment day poem and reminds me of the fireboy-brings-fire koan of which Dogen was quite fond. It has a similar “you are what you seek” theme but with a twist, of course. I’ll come back to that in the coming days.

Wishing you all the morning star and the great earth too.

Dosho