April 18, 2021: Rivers of the Desert

               Rivers of the Desert

The rivers of the desert

Carve deep into the stone,

Stripping the banks like an outlaw

Who needs to be left alone.

 

A river in the desert

Stays hidden, and he's running fast;

Pioneering the future

while he delves down into the past.

 

I am a river.

I'm changing the land.

Not much to give

To the rock and the sand,

So for now, I take it away.

For now, that's the role I play.

One day,

I'll grow wide and provide

For a lush, green valley.

I do believe that's the plan.

I've really got no time to dally.

I can only do what I can!

 

I become a raging torrent

From occasional pelting rains,

And then I become a trickle,

Hardly able to sustain

The wildlife and the foliage

Who dwell in this narrow gorge,

Yet they keep on coming back

Because the dry desert heat is a scourge.

 

I am a river.

I'm changing the land.

Not much to give

To the rock and the sand,

So for now, I take it away.

For now, that's the role I play.

One day,

I'll grow wide and provide

For a lush, green valley.

I do believe that's the plan.

I've really got no time to dally.

I can only do what I can!

April 18, 2021: XXXII II. 103. naco re mero man, matta hoy - by Kabir in "Songs of Kabir", pg. 80

II. 103.  Naco Re Mero Man, Matta Hoy

Dance, my heart!  dance today with joy.
The strains of love fill the days and the nights with music,
And the world is listening to its melodies:

Mad with joy, life and death dance to the rhythm of this music.
The hills and the sea and the earth dance. 
The world of man dances in laughter and tears.

Why put on the robe of the monk, and live aloof from the world in lonely pride?

Behold !  my heart dances in the delight of a hundred arts;
and the Creator is well pleased.