Sunday, July 26, 2009

Your Mother and My Mother, by Hafiz


Frédéric Chopin - Nocturne Op.9 No.2

Fear is the cheapest room in the house.
I would like to see you living
In better conditions,

For your mother and my mother
Were friends.

I know the Innkeeper
In this part of the universe.
Get some rest tonight,
Come to my verse again tomorrow.
We'll go speak to the Friend together.

I should not make any promises right now,
But I know if you
Pray
Somewhere in this world -
Something good will happen.

God wants to see
More love and playfulness in your eyes
For that is your greatest witness to Him.

Your soul and my soul
Once sat together in the Beloved's womb
Playing footsie.

Your heart and my heart
Are very, very old
Friends.


transl. by Daniel Ladinsky
from The Gift: Poems by Hafiz, the Great Sufi Master

14 comments:

Roxana said...

ah, so beautiful.

m said...

it is, isn't it...

Prospero said...

Hi Manuela.

Fear is the cheapest room in the house. - this is such a great line!

I don't think I would have used this music, though.

I think that it may be that it's difficult to use a piece that is so popular and well known. Unless it's used in a very unusual way.

Sorry to be difficult. (maybe it's just that I need more coffee)

Manuela said...

i agree on the link between being difficult and coffee :) - but you should know by now that i love your comments! here i rarely get comments on the music, and ever more rarely on the combination between music & poems - so i'm actually quite thrilled to have you comment on the interplay, which is the heart of the blog (or at least i meant it to be)

on to the chopin piece, i was just thinking yesterday that it does not fit. i left it on because i don't yet 'feel' what would fit, and also because of the day - it's more of a fit with the day, in memory of someone, that piece. i may change it later if i find the fit - i've been known to do that, change earlier posts...

please, keep being 'difficult'

Prospero said...

I'm thinking about the link between poetry and music.
You know, Manuela, the poems should be read (poetry is auditory, anyways). Then edited with the music, or sound.
Do you want to try and guess who my favorite filmmaker is?

Manuela said...

dear prospero, i'd love to try and guess, but i confess my knowledge of film making to be abysmal... unless it's one of the two you mentioned to me (and i didn't know)?

your idea of poetry read over music is great! that would be a different blog than this, i think, but wouldn't it be great... i've been thinking about it :)

how beautiful, your new photos!

Prospero said...

Maybe we want to create and share a new blog (one dies, another is born).
How do you deal with copyright issues on the music?

Who are the two filmmakers i mentioned (Anne-Marie Miéville and Wim Wenders)?

Manuela said...

hmmm, a shared blog... lets talk - manuottawa at hotmail dot com

and yes, those are the two, and between them i'd go with Wenders as your favorite. though that my be my rilke bias peeking through, but there you go - how did i do and who is your favorite?

Roxana said...

this is exactly what i had thought myself, how insightful and infinitly precious Prospero's comments are here - and i am very shy and regretful that i miss 'the heart of this blog', as Manuela put it, because of my inability to relate to music. merely commenting on the poems seems indeed to be irrelevant.

manuela said...

insightful and infinitely precious and dear are your comments, too, roxana, and never irrelevant, ok? don't say that.

and i know you also know from your own experience that blogs take on this life of their own once you put them out there, sometimes quite independent of our vision or wishes.

(cuvantul de verificare este readus :)

Dylan said...

Greetings,

I heard an interesting Dharma talk last night about fear. It's worth a listen if you have the time. The teacher mentions the first paragraph from the Your Mother and My Mother poem by Hafiz that I just discovered and absolutely love. I did a google search for the whole verse and found your blog. I just wanted to send you note to appreciate your creativity and the abundance of spirit present in the dance between poems and music in your blog. I hope creativity is still ever present and blossoming in your life.

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/55/talk/20105/

Namaste,
Dylan

Re said...

Do you have the poem in Farsi or know which book it is from?

Manuela Popovici said...

Hello Re,
I don't have the poem in Farsi, no. The book the poem is from is listed and linked to in the post.
Thanks for your visit,
m

Unknown said...

So sweet. Thanks!