Sufi Poet

Sufi Poet

Tread the path softly, let not the shaking earth betray your presence

So moves the Sufi, unseen and yet all seeing in this way

The swaying forest moves the trees, the adept moves thus, without moving

Still in every motion, unnoticed at the center of the storm.

The Sufi Dancer dances on, the poet writes the lines.

The people watch with open mouths, they do not know it shines.

How can they know it shines.

Run as the tiger, camouflaged and hidden by its nature.

Stand the chameleon, merge into what surrounds you and be still.

Remain thus unalarmed by the images that flicker in the darkness.

There is no darkness here, this light within me gives me light for evermore.

If you would pass the flaming sword that turns on every side.

Become such as the uncarved block, the space between the lines.

The space between the lines.

The Flower gives its scent quite freely to those who would ignore it.

The sun gives light to all who see and yet it also shines upon the blind.

The Sufi walks alone and yet is never lonely.

There is another here, a mother lies within, the father of us all.

If you would see the king of kings who sits upon the throne,

Just ask to enter in, all secrets shall be known.

All secrets shall be known.

As we move on now, from town to town we tell the same true story,

About so great a love, to all who wish to hear we speak the words.

There is a gem to give, a white stone hidden deep within the knowing.

Ask what you want to, the answers to your questions lie within.

The Sufi Dancer dances on, the poet writes the lines.

The people watch with open mouths, they do not know it shines.

How can they know it shines.

If you would pass the flaming sword that turns on every side.

Become such as the uncarved block, the space between the lines.

The space between the lines.

If you would see the king of kings who sits upon the throne,

Just ask to enter in, all secrets shall be known.

All secrets shall be known.

The Band: Chris Schmitt and Matt Barrios

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Sufi Poet was inspired primarily by Idries Shah my favorite Afghani writer. Sufi's are Islamic mystics and are sometimes considered heretics by other Muslims, rather like the Christian Gnostics, who have generally suffered persecution by powerful Christian sects. Sufi Dancers include the famous whirling dervishes. George Gurdjieff taught sacred dancing in France during the 1920's and 30's. His teachings have been linked to Sufism.

The reference to "the flaming sword" is biblical, and according to Hebrew mythology protected the sacred abode of the Lord. The "uncarved block" is a Taoist reference to the original condition of the universe before the big bang.

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Photographs by Robert H. Mason