"Are You Willing To Give?"

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You feed me from your silver platter.
To eat from wealth does not matter.
Feed me from the essence of your soul.
I need not fill from your crystal bowl.
To drink from a golden goblet, I don't need.
My thirst will not quench from selfish greed.
I shall swallow the love from your heart.
Don't need wine from exquisite art.
Give me love not by nuggets or coin.
No ring or law do I need for us to join.
Words from your heart and mind will do.
I need us as one and not of two.
This is what I need to continue to live.
So today I ask you "Are you willing to give?"
(Unknown Author)

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I live, yet die; I burn, and yet I drown;
I faint with heat, yet shiver with the cold;
My bitter griefs still sweeter joys enfold;
My life is hard as rock, yet soft as down.
I'm quick to foolish giggles, sudden tears,
And in my joy nurse many a grievous pain,
My bliss eternal swiftly fades again;
My leaves die off, and green bud reappears.
Thus Love unkindly leads me by the nose;
And when my breast can bear such pain no more,
Without my knowing how or why, it goes.
Then, when the heights of joy my longing knows,
And of my longed-for bliss I feel secure,
Love hurls me down, back where I wept before.

(Unknown Author)

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Within this beating heart the measure great
Abundant so with love cannot contain
Passions glance alone has sealed its fate
Poets verse throughout the ages shan't compare
No romantic words of theirs define
Endless splendor, glorious and rare
What thou doth inspire so divine
Life's great torture for this soul alone
Absent from they presence suffer I
Waiting til they perfect image shown

(Unknown Author)

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Ah, my beloved, fill the cup that clears

Today of past regrets and future fears;

Tomorrow? Why, tomorrow I may be,

Myself, with yesterday's sev'n thousand years.

In life devote yourself to joy and love

Behold the beauty of the peaceful dove

Those who live, in the end must all perish

Live as if you are already in heavens above

(Omar Khayyam)

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From whose house this joyous light brightens my heart?

Whose lover has sent my soul this cupid's burning dart?

This state wrecks my house and my faith

Whose bosom enfolds her & whose fingers her hair part?

The nectar of her lips always remains upon my lips

Whose soul will comfort & for whom pour a wine quart?

That candle who radiates riches and joy

Ask God, whose moth flight tonight shall thwart?

Mesmerizes everyone, while none can know

To whose tale her gentle heart will wake and smart?

O God, that supremely gentle and graceful face

Whose rare jewel is tonight and whose irreplaceable art?

I sighed, O Hafiz, that I'm crazy when apart

Smilingly you said who is the mad one from the start?
(Hafiz)

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In my work, all my time, idly spend

I am in love, to the depths of love descend.

The lion of thy longing hunted me down

This same lion in my trap will find its end.

On the shores of thy ocean is my hometown

Kissed by waves, though depths upward won’t send.

In the heavenly spirits and wine I drown

Worship of vine no more need I pretend;

My patience by this spirit turns to frown

Fault me not if pride is not of my trend.

Like Father Sun, capture the world with my crown

Without soldiers, scepter or knights can defend.

Sugar, from Egypt to Rome, I bring down

Though day and night can never make me amend.

With thy rose mixed my essence, my very own,

Why, the thorn upon my head, the rose will lend.

O Pride of Tabriz, Shams of the spirit, renown

In both worlds, where can I find a better friend
(Rumi)

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Are you fleeing from Love because of a single humiliation?

What do you know of Love except the name?

Love has a hundred forms of pride and disdain,

And is gained by a hundred means of persuasion.

Since Love is loyal, it purchases one who is loyal:

It has no interest in a disloyal companion.

The human being resembles a tree; its root is a covenant with God:

That root must be cherished with all one's might.

A weak covenant is a rotten root, without grace or fruit.

Though the boughs and leaves of the date palm are green,

Greenness brings no benefit if the root is corrupt.

If a branch is without green leaves, yet has a good root,

A hundred leaves will put forth their hands in the end.
(Rumi)