There are love dogs no one knows the names of!
“Love Dogs” speaks of the
dark nights those contemplatives of all faiths experience in the quest to move
beyond other people’s truths to direct experience that each one might go
through. Here it is in the text, from
the definitive translation by Coleman Barks.
One night a man was crying! His lips grew sweet with
the praising, until a cynic said, "So! I have heard you calling out, but
have you ever gotten any response?" The man had no answer to that, He quit
praying and fell into a confused sleep. He dreamed the guide of souls, in
thick, green foliage, "Why did you stop praising?" "Because I've
never heard anything back." "This longing you express is the return
message." The grief you cry out from draws you toward union. Your pure sadness
that wants help is the secret cup, Listen to the moan of a dog for its master.
That whining is the connection; there are love dogs no one knows the names of.
Give your life to be one of them.”
“Jalal – El Rumi”
There are love dogs (2019)
Acrylic and charcoal, pencil on canvas
120x180cm.
