Like a Reed, Open Yourself to God’s Breath

Dermot O'Grady, "Reeds by the Lake"

Spiritual Sunday

Ramadan, Islam’s holiest period, begins this coming Thursday so here’s a Ramadan poem from Rumi, the 13^th century Sufi mystic. Rumi says of Ramadan’s sunup to sundown fast that it jolts worshippers out of their fickle busybody ways, clearing a path to spirit. Usually we are like a chick fretting within the egg—we eat and choke—but Ramadan releases us so that we can break out of the shell and fly. “Cover the table,” says Rumi, “and open the path of praise.”

In the poet’s vision, an empty belly becomes a horn through which the Master calls the beloved. Those who fast are also like empty reeds that become conduits for music. And then Rumi, always open to other spiritual traditions, concludes the poem with a reference that Christians will recognize: the Virgin Mary too, when she opened herself to spirit, found herself filled with the living presence of God.

Ramadan

By Rumi

O moon-faced Beloved,
the month of Ramadan has arrived
Cover the table
and open the path of praise.

O fickle busybody,
it’s time to change your ways.
Can you see the one who’s selling the halvah
how long will it be the halvah you desire?

Just a glimpse of the halvah-maker
has made you so sweet even honey says,
“I’ll put myself beneath your feet, like soil;
I’ll worship at your shrine.”

Your chick frets within the egg
with all your eating and choking.
Break out of your shell that your wings may grow.
Let yourself fly.

The lips of the Master are parched
from calling the Beloved.
The sound of your call resounds
through the horn of your empty belly.

Let nothing be inside of you.
Be empty:  give your lips to the lips of the reed.
When like a reed you fill with His breath,
then you’ll taste sweetness.

Sweetness is hidden in the Breath
that fills the reed.
Be like Mary – by that sweet breath
a child grew within her.

Note on the artist: Some of Dermot O’Grady’s paintings can be found at www.etsy.com/shop/dermotogrady.