GNOMIC SENTENCES : Daniel Abdal Hayy Moore , American Muslim Poet- Sufi Illuminations Journal Vol.4, No 2, 2008

GNOMIC SENTENCES

Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore

The sweetness of the bitter pill

the ascent of the small step

The total silence of too much speaking

the eyeful that becomes blind

The touch that becomes a full embrace

the downfall that becomes its own rise

See the sun in a mirror before

shielding your eyes from its rays

See the heart’s mirror down in your depths

turning dragons into doves

The laughter that is crueler than a scythe

the scimitar more soothing than comforting words

In some extremes have become the norm

for some the norm drives them to extremes

Kiss the stone in the corner of the house

and pass it by

The center never leaves its pivotal location

the edges never cease to be peripheral

A drop of honey on a sheet of glass

is an amber metropolis

An ant is a cosmos on six legs

holding a leaf

Hold to true notions and look death

straight in the face

Though the hair on the back of your hands

stand up and your throat parch

The gallows looks like a distant threat

for everyone else

Some eloquent words have escaped the lips

of those about to be hanged

Down has never been up

though it leads to the wheel

Each turn of the wheel by day or night

climbs the difficult mountain

Far is near for those who’ve just

returned from a journey

Lean close to the voyager who’s

passed through the Pleiades

The sighs of these journeyers are worth

more than the sacred texts

Look and see if you’re too much there

to partake of their nothingness

The ocean hides her inhabitants

with ferocious modesty

On earth the ocean is the air we breathe

and God is the whale surveying us with serene eyes

Let go of holding on

and holding on will let go of you

The flight to another planet

brings us back to earth with a jolt

A bolt of light is enough

to see a moment of space

God’s Light is enough to fill each breath

with His Face

9/16/2004 (from Cooked Oranges)

Sourcs:  Sufi Illuminations: A Journal Devoted to the Study of Islam & Sufism-Vol.4 No.1 Spring 2008, Published by Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education (NFIE)