This is the journey of my soul back to
God. It is my dark night which lasted for
many years and carried me here and there
across the expanse of this world, in the folds
of a God unknown to me, whom I heard calling
by name from the depths of my heart. It is
the wanderings of a poet, who so blessed
and graced by the Divine, came to the feet
of mystics, saints and spiritual teachers, to
receive from their hands the quenching of my
thirst. It is the journey of an inner dying, a
bewilderment of the mind, before the over-
whelming senses within, inexplicable to my
intellect, incomprehensible to the world. It
is the journey of a young seeker, unprepared
for the initiations of such a journey, yet
being protected, sustained and guided by the
unseen Hand. It is the journey of abandonment,
the release from this world into a hidden state,
a cloud of light.
My gratitude rests deeply with a few I
have known along the way, whose compassion
and companionship of my mind and soul have
caused me to enter the New Life.
DEDICATION
WHY I WRITE
I write to please my Beloved
that for a moment His creation
can rest lightly
in the heart of a poet.
CONTENTS
I. Purification of the Self
My Heart
Symptoms
Without Hope
Clouds
I Am Lonely
Sitting and Longing
My Sensitivity
II. Illumination
Waiting
Young Woman
The Veil of Veils
The Last Friend, My Beloved
A Moderate Heart
Poets
Bird of Heart
This Ego of Mine
Ignorance
Humility
III. Illumination and Union
The Beauty of Yours
The Sun of Your Face
Oh Friend
My Fear
Rememberance
The Way
Dark and Light
Perfection
IV. Union
Awakening
Expectation
The call
Intoxication
The Lover's Voice
Your Touch
Songs of Love
Quest for Union
The Bird of Soul
Mirror of Myself
V. Nature
Wandering Poet
Beloved Friend
No Question
Flower Among Thorns
Form and Color
What Is Inside
Warm Spring
That I Share
Integrity
The Stem and Blossom
Beautiful Woman
Lost in Love
What I Give
My Eyes
VI. Alone
Melody of One Note
VII. Consummation
Song of the Road
Praying
A Spectacle of the Divine
Stream of Love
You are Me
Vision
His One
I. PURIFICATION OF THE SELF
MY HEART
My heart, I cannot cry
out to you as to where I am
and how I see the flower
within you.
SYMPTOMS
A doctor looks for the symptoms
of the disease and tries to cure it.
But the disease of the heart
can only be treated with love.
WITHOUT HOPE
What hope for my heart if my mind
lacks understanding? A friend said
to me, "I will meet you when your
thoughts are nearer to me."
I ponder his meaning until my feelings
ache, my mind beats as a drum, and
my body weakens, desires rest.
I ask myself, why must it be so hard?
Why must I put off what can be done
now to wait till later? This perplexes
me. I fall asleep to try again.
I wonder if he is in such a haste
to meet me.
CLOUDS
Clouds are bursting within me.
I huddle near a flame that burns
in my heart, in fear that the clouds
should bring thunder instead of rain.
I AM LONELY
I am lonely for my Lover.
His love does not sing clearly in me.
I lay waste to all that I claim as mine
for I know this is falsehood.
If I am to enter His kingdom
I must be as a retiring guest.
SITTING AND LONGING
I sit and long for His company.
I realize how separated I am
from Him. I long for life
and my love grows for me
to awaken to Him.
MY SENSITIVITY
My sensitivity to life is similar
to the Autumn leaf being blown.
I feel the pressure of intense
minds. Yet something within
me sustains me. As the Autumn
leaf I also am blown toward love
where I find refuge.
II. ILLUMINATION
WAITING
He is waiting for me
with kisses for my heart
and stars for my unseeing eyes.
I tarry too long over His festival
and forget He waits.
But He is patience
the brook of understanding.
YOUNG WOMAN
I met a young woman by the seaside.
As we became acquainted
we began sharing secrets of our hearts.
She told me how her life
was at a standstill and that each day
she went to the sea to await guidance.
She touched my heart with her sincerity.
I asked her what I could do.
She said, "Nothing, I must wait."
I decided to wait with her.
THE VEIL OF VEILS
Love is coming to me in plaintive cries.
The veil that has hidden love
is being lifted from my eyes.
THE LAST FRIEND, MY BELOVED
Oh dearly Beloved
my last friend has forsaken me
so we may draw closer our hearts.
Oh Beloved the rain is spent
and the dreary streets are quiet now.
People talk incessantly
of their love for You
and I shut my ears to their useless
chatterings
knowing in our quietude we meet.
A MODERATE HEART
There is no moderation
for the heart.
Either it gushes forth
like a fountain
or trickles as a spring.
POETS
I read Your beloved poets
a heart given to a few men.
To be a real poet is no easy task.
As You have said,
"To love God is not for the weak
hearted."
I press Your words to my heart
praying that my fraility may be-
come strength in Your love.
BIRD OF HEART
The heart is like a bird in a cage.
It can neither fly nor be freed.
It is a yearning of the heart
to shed this body
as a snake sheds skin.
THE EGO OF MINE
This ego of mine is killing me.
Is there not a cure?
Baba says, "Divine Love."
What remedy is this?
Baba says, "Truth."
I laugh to His words.
Music flows in my ears.
My chest heaves
as the birth of my heart sighs.
IGNORANCE
My ignorance is a shield
to fend off the arrows of truth.
The shield is very thick
and welded heavy,
coated with fear.
It makes me sick and tired.
I will give it to Him
to destroy with love.
HUMILITY
I am not worthy, Beloved.
In this world have I laughed
and sorrowed only waiting
waiting for You.
Many have asked me,
"What am I doing here?"
I answer with a tear.
III. ILLUMINATION AND UNION
THE BEAUTY OF YOURS
You are beautiful the way you are
a projecting moon beam
amidst glistening stars.
A sensitive breath
filled with the perfume fragrance
of dear life. You are beautiful
as the Summer sunset
casts reflections upon the water.
A pure soul, an honest soul
a loving soul.
A soul to touch
and like the lithe young willow tree
that grows from the Earth to immerse
with All.
THE SUN OF YOUR FACE
The sun of Your face is warmth
and the moon of Your eye
is cool refreshment.
The stars twinkle
to Your radiant light
and my heart bursts with tears.
OH FRIEND
Oh Friend
let us go walking into the night
when the sun is down
and the stars are bright.
Let us walk hand and hand
through the night.
MY FEAR
I become so frightened
when I do not remember You
and the world closes me.
Oh Ancient One
how can I live without You?
REMEMBRANCE
Fond remembrance passes through
me when in my dream state
Thy face appears.
Like the clouds passing
by the pull of a swift wind
I experience Thy bliss
and feel the loss of Thy face
only remember Thee
my Lord.
THE WAY
Let your heart
lead the way
for only your heart
knows the way.
DARK AND LIGHT
I enter the darkest of the dark
and lightest light.
I enter the present
without hope for the future
and death to the past.
I enter the heart never to return.
PERFECTION
How fortunate is Hafiz's perfection.
How unfortunate is my lot.
I am sour dough.
Gladly I would die today
to be perfect in Your love.
But how can I die?
My hands are emptied
by my heart's desire
and they are full from separation.
What a dilemma
my soul places me in.
Duality!
I have much to sell.
I have neither the ears to hear
with nor the eyes to see.
What grief I am caused.
When I was ignorant
of All Things being You
then I was a simpleton.
Now You cast me out
from nights of ignorance
and bar that door.
How long do I stand in darkness?
How many steps are there to climb?
I know not who I am
or what You are
though I feel You inside
and call You Father.
I see ovens
to bake me as dough
into fresh bread.
Yet I alone have not the strength
to step inside the oven to be baked.
I do not fear the oven
for I can understand
its purpose.
But I cannot understand what it is
to be baked in God's oven.
This troubles me
and I do not know what to think.
Rest assured my heart
I am tenderising myself to be baked.
But oh what feeling
to be uncompleted work.
What mixture is missing in my dough
that causes it not to be fit for baking?
I know baked bread is for consuming.
Well, when will I ever taste that Good?
IV. UNION
AWAKENING
This morning I awoke Beloved One
and my heart was like a fountain
empty of water.
Before, the birds were chirping
and the sun was rising
from the other side of the Earth
Knower of my heart
my suffering began for Thee.
Today this poor heart of mine
is broken
and the strain is nearly beyond
endurance.
Oh Infinite One, what share in Thy wealth
is alloted to me that I must pass this day
with the sorrows of a broken heart
and the joy of Thy Divine Compassion.
All words have been spoken in me
like a tidal wave bursting upon the shore
and all thoughts are deadening within my senses.
Oh Heart of my heart
hear this simple cry
from this poor heart of mine.
EXPECTATION
The time of waiting for Thee is hard.
I sleep with the palms of my hands
pressed against my heart
to ease the pain of separation.
Days pass by
and I await Thy Miracle of miracles
to make me as Thyself.
Oh Dreamer of my dream
this pain is Thy blessing's touch.
THE CALL
You called me, I came.
There was nothing else to do.
At night and in the day
You say to me,
"There is nothing else to do."
INTOXICATION
Today as many days
Beloved has made me drunk
to taste His brimming cup,
a draught of love.
He steadies my mind
and dizzies my thoughts.
He gives to me
the remembrance of His lovely name
the sound charms my heart.
Beloved there is only You.
He allows me to witness
the veil of the ego.
I have yet to cross
to the other side.
In Him I patiently abide.
When the time is ripe
it will happen
a pure kiss
from the lips of love.
What a great blessing to call His name
to feel within the heart throbbing.
He has taken me step by step.
Now He gives me light sleep in His arms
I who am a man becoming a child.
THE LOVER'S VOICE
Touch the Earth and sky.
Touch the land and the stars
the ever flowing stream of life.
Touch all things
for all is part of you.
Touch me through the Lover's voice
in your heart.
Touch these songs of eternal greeting
for our Lover calls.
YOUR TOUCH
Your touch is my life
when I drift into the melody
struck by Your love
and witness my heart
playing childlike.
SONGS OF LOVE
Songs of love pour forth
where my heart whispers
to my mind her secrets.
I listen stark naked before the Voice.
QUEST FOR UNION
The flowers are gay
as I march with the quest for union
and the sky is a jewelled door
opening to Him.
When I arrive He will paint my life
with Eternal Love.
THE BIRD OF SOUL
The sound of the morning birds
gladdens my heart.
The birds and myself are one family.
Together we greet His daylight
with cheers and songs.
MIRROR OF MYSELF
The trees are decorating His earth
for me to enjoy and the gardener works
trimming the landscape
so nothing of nature
is hidden from my view.
I behold passersby as mirrors of my
self.
Today I am helpless
in the endless arms of His love.
V. NATURE
WANDERING POET
A wandering poet
filled with the awe for splendid nature
was resting beneath a tree
absorbed in the sky.
The Springtime shade from the branches
left God's shadows on the ground.
The clouds sometimes barring the sun rays
added more shadows upon the earth.
The poet sat under the cool shade
looking at the sky
considered all these reflections of forms
of the greatness of God's Art Work.
He became enraptured with the colors.
With the penetrating forces of his thought
the poet lost himself in the panorama
and gave a sigh
saying,"Oh God, You are beyond me. It is
enough to know You are all this and more.
Let me just learn to love You."
The moment passed like a breath.
The poet regained normal consciousness.
Stretching out his legs, seeing a bird
take flight, he began to swoon once more.
He was overcome with the depth of God's
images, this time to fly with God's bird.
He said to himself, "Oh God, truly You are
beyond me. The best I can do is love You."
Then he landed....
BELOVED FRIEND
Nature is whistling, Beloved Friend,
How pleased everything is.
My Comrade,
can we not remain here in the forest?
NO QUESTION
I seldom question what to do
and where to look.
The earth has served me well.
Her life was my school yard.
The journey outward is ended.
The journey within has begun.
I know He is waiting for me
to win my purpose.
FLOWER AND THORNS
My love is a flower among thorns
always bleeding yet fragrant.
As an ocean deep blue
yet always a crescent wave.
One light to another light
always meeting with rays.
A purple cloud, a gray cloud
always the same.
My love breaths in then breaths out
then breaths in again.
FORM AND COLOR
A flower is dying
not from need of light
nor lacking of water
does this flower wither.
My heart watches daily
as the flower fades and silently
I say, 'Beautiful flower
you are but a moment's color
and form in His vast garden.'
WHAT IS INSIDE
The plant is in the vase.
They take their stand together
upon a windowsill.
Outside is the air of city life
and inside is the tranquility
of a garden.
WARM SPRING
My mood is a warm Spring night
and my heart goes out to breath
everything.
I fill the darkness with joy
as the lamps light the way
to allow me to see.
Tonight I feel calm and tranquil
in His beautiful world.
THAT I SHARE
I would that I may share
this night with you
as companions with Him
to gaze into one another's heart
and touch as children
our life source.
INTEGRITY
Without the plant
the sun has no purpose.
Without the sun
the plant has no life.
THE STEM AND THE BLOSSOM
The bud grows from the stem
only to blossom
and my words like the bud
sprout from my heart.
BEAUTIFUL WOMAN
Beautiful woman
where are you going?
The colors of the sky
and the princely clothes you wear
add to make your own textures of love.
But what of your Beloved's love?
Where there is room only for yourself
how can my Lover caress your heart?
LOST IN LOVE
I am drowning in love.
My eyes are blind to everything
but love.
My thoughts are love's thoughts.
My lips move from the sound
of love.
I am drowning in love
without a care.
WHAT I GIVE YOU
Let me give you my love.
The source is musical.
Words swaying and weaving
the tune of tunes, my heart.
MY EYES
I will feast my eyes
upon the colors of love
and quench my thirst
at the spring for joy.
There I will build a nest
fashioned from His Being
and remain there to play
at His feet
in fun and frolic.
VI. ALONE
MELODY OF ONE NOTE
The divineness of Thy love
is ever drawing closer and closer
the strings of my mind and heart.
The tune I hear within
is ever fresher and newer
With one melody and one note.
It is the wording of Thy praise
and Thy remembrance.
VII. CONSUMMATION
SONG OF THE ROAD
The poet's song
when sung from the heart
is a pure stream
enveloping the soul's heart.
PRAYING
Oh God, send me such gifts
that only Your love
abides in my heart
and like a lake my mind rests
in peace knowing there is only You.
As the Springtime brings the flowers
into blossom let Thy love of me
in You bring gifts of flowers
to Your many loving souls.
And as the Fall withers
to the snowy curtain of Winter
may I be for You warmth for others
in their coldest moment.
And as the sun heats the days
and moon cools the nights
could I not also be both a dawn
and a kiss goodnight for Thee.
A SPECTACLE OF THE DIVINE
In one moment
the heart sprung open to a beauty
a spectacle divine.
In this light where the stars halt
and all things in the turning of Eternity
cease in the silent sleep of His Ocean.
STREAM OF LOVE
From my heart pours forth
a stream consumed within love
speaking a language formed with words.
A sensitive feeling
an eye-taught message.
YOU ARE ME
Your temple is my head.
I close my eyes to see it.
Your holiness is my feet
to walk the Earth.
And Your divine love
is my heart's throbbing.
VISION
One moment of silence with Him
touching my heart
as if the sky was at my feet
and the sun breaking into golden haze
as if the Earth was in the sky
and the ocean pounded the seashore
creating New Life.
HIS ONE
He is the endless stream of life.
He crawls like the worm
and soars as a bird.
His will is the roar of the ocean
and the clap of a thunderous sky.
In my heart He too dwells
speaking a language of feeling
expressing in me the Nature of Being.
Marc Frank
