Love Poems to God
photograph by Julie Elliot
Where I live in the Okanagan of British Columbia, roses are spilling over fences in impossible extravagance, filling the air with perfume. They’re blooming in my well-tended garden and in the abandoned yard down the road. There’s no stopping their abundance this year! It seems like the right moment to share a few extravagant love poems to God. The first one is from Fernando Esté who is an alumni of Pacific Jubilee SoulGuiding. The second is from the Sufi mystic and poet, Jalaluddin Rumi.
I hope these inspire you to find Divine ecstasy in your summer days,
Julie Elliot
communications coordinator
Standing in a Field
by Fernando Esté
Standing in a field
walking in the woods
soaking up the sun’s warmth on a summer day
breathing in the smell of a red rose in bloom,
witnessing a kind gesture,
feeling the beach gentle breeze caressing my skin,
stargazing at Bryce Canyon,
tasting and savouring a mango or a crispy cherry,
making love with my lover,
his soul fluttering on my tongue and lips,
receiving the infinite kindness of my dog’s eyes looking at mine,
and the never-ending sprinkling and fogging of my city’s winter days…
everywhere you look,
everything you are present to and being aware of,
in the moment, beyond words, beyond explanation, beyond anything at all,
we are One,
we love you, Oh Creator, our God and our All.
Thank you for knitting us in our mother’s womb.
From you we come, and we come back to you in every moment
because we die each moment on this earth.
We love you in the particulars of the smallest things…
in them, we touch you…we caress your Holy Face,
we worship you in an act of kindness and a work of justice.
What was Said to the Rose
by Jalaluddin Rumi
What was said to the rose that made it open
was said to me here in my chest.
What was told the cypress that made it strong
and straight, what was whispered the jasmine
so it is what it is, whatever made sugarcane
sweet; whatever was said to the inhabitants
of the town of Chigil in Turkestan that makes
them so handsome, whatever lets the pomegranate
flower blush like a human face, that is being
said to me now. I blush. Whatever put eloquence
in language, that’s happening here. The great
warehouse doors open; I fill with gratitude,
chewing a piece of sugarcane, in love with
the one to whom every that belongs!
- Rumi: The Book of Love - Poems of Ecstasy and Longing. Translations and commentary by Coleman Barks
Fernando Esté
calls himself an accidental mystic grounded and guided by contemplative practices from various spiritual traditions, including mainline Catholicism, Zen Buddhism, and First Nations. He says, "I can clearly see that my life has been a paradoxical journey, a mix of profound and inexplicably joyful experiences, and a fair share of personal suffering and sorrow." Read about Fernando's spiritual practice here.
