Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West (Compass)

Although these are not direct translations of their originals, the power and insight first expressed by these poets is still very present. Each section holds something thought-provoking and eye-opening about God, ourselves, or the world in general that I think can be seen regardless of the reader's religious background if encountered with an open heart. Divine love is deeply manifested in this work, and I will definitely treasure it for years to come.

I'm reading it slowly. It's amazingly healing. Quite delightful! and profound. Where have these poems been hiding?
Half the poets are Sufi and half are Catholic, 6 of each. They share a wonderful sense of humor and insight into the Love of God.

Spirituality, sensuality, and ecstasy combine in this brilliant collection of poems from 6 eastern and 6 western authors.

How long will grown men and women in this world
keep drawing in their coloring books
an image of God that makes them sad?

- Meister Eckhart

Highly recommended to anyone who loves breathtakingly clear, beautiful poetry and is unafraid of loving physically and deeply, beyond the limits imposed by ideology. Also recommended to anyone who has ever struggled to integrate their sensual and spiritual nature.

Oh my gosh, awesome book! Simple translations and the visuals of the text get on your nerves after awhile, but the material is amazing. Although I'm really interested how others would translate these, I've got so many of these poems marked. They feel like the beauty of the thought was the key factor in the translation and not a word for word translation. Any of the poems in the St. Teresa of St. John sections are wonderful mines to meditate on. Hafiz and Rabia were some really nice finds, but St Thomas Aquinas really surprised me with the intamacy that he uses. Here's a gem from the book by Hafiz: "Two Giant Fat People" God/ and I have become/ like two giant fat people living/ in a tiny/ boat./ We/ keep bumping into/ each other/ and/ show more laughing. show less

Full disclosure: I haven’t read ALL the poems but I’ll count this as finished for purposes of my Goodreads Challenge. This is a beautiful collection of poetry.

Absolutely beautiful

A favorite, though I have many....

THE TRUE NATURE OF YOUR BELOVED

Know
the true nature of your
Beloved.

In
His
loving eyes
your every thought, word, and movement
is always, always

beautiful.