LOVE DOGS

One night a man was crying Allah! Allah!
His lips grew sweet with 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.

Inside water, a waterwheel turns.
A star circulates with the moon.

We live in this night ocean wondering,
What are these lights?

No better love than love with no object,
no more satisfying work than work with no purpose.

If you could give up tricks and cleverness,

that would be the cleverest trick!

                                                       -Rumi