Today we scattered the last of my dad’s ashes in the wheatfield at my grandparents’ farm.  They have both passed on, and no one lives in the old house, but my uncle still farms the land and my aunt promised to bring us some wheat from that corner of the field next year.  It is a beautiful place, the scene of my very happiest and most vivid childhood memories, and it comforts me to know that my dad is there.  My grandparents (his in-laws), whom he loved deeply, are there too.

We all cried a little bit, and then the rain began to fall.  We went into the old house, scavenging for treasures.  Mice and birds had been there before us, nesting in Grandma’s boxes of quilt scraps and chewing up old books. The wallpaper is peeling from the walls and chunks of the ceiling have fallen in, but the memories and the voices are still fresh in my mind.  I have never felt God anywhere as strongly as I feel it in that place.  It’s a good place to rest.

Never Say It Is Not God

I taste what you taste. I know the kind of lyrics
your Soul most likes. I know which sounds will become
Resplendent in your mind and bring such pleasure
Your feet will jump and whirl.

When anything touches or enters your body
Never say it is not God, for He is
Just trying to get close.

I have no use for divine patience — my lips are always
Burning and everywhere. I am running from every corner
Of this world and sky wanting to kiss you;

I am every particle of dust and wheat — you and I
Are ground from His Own Body. I am rioting at your door;
I am spinning in midair like golden falling leaves
Trying to win your glance.

I am sweetly rolling against your walls and your shores

All night, even though you are asleep. I am singing from
The mouths of animals and birds honoring our
Beloved’s promise and need: to let
you know the Truth.

My dear, when anything touches or enters your body
Never say it is not God, for He and I are
Just trying to get close to you.

God and I are rushing
From every corner of existence, needing to say,
“We are yours.”

From: “The Subject Tonight is Love: 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky. Copyright © 1999 by Daniel Ladinsky.