the thousand-stringed instrument

our own heart must teach us

 

The heart is

The thousand-stringed instrument.

Our sadness and fear come from being

Out of tune with love.

 

All day long God coaxes my lips

To speak,

So that your tears will not stain

His green dress.

 

It is not that the Friend is vain,

It is just your life we care about.

 

Sometimes the Beloved

Takes my pen in hand,

For Hafiz is just a simple man.

 

The other day the Old One

Wrote on the Tavern wall:

 

“The heart is

The thousand-stringed instrument

That can only be tuned with

Love.”

 

Hafiz

the gift