With gratitude to Sister Arifa for this post on FB in the Soup and Sufi Sunday group. I so needed to hear this today. I hope it resonates with you all as well.
I’m so sorry to wake you up
but there is something
that I have to tell you
before the dawn arrives
I need you to believe something
~the sadness that lays
heavy on your chest like a
century old cannonball
isn’t who you are
~the ghost that lives
in your inner ear and
lies to you about your beauty
isn’t who you are
~the swarm of regret wasps
that have turned your
heart into a dripping hive of guilt
isn’t who you are
~the burning itch under your
sweet skin that begs for you to
tear into so you’ll finally feel something
isn’t who you are
~the thick knot in your
stomach that has been
there since your first memory
isn’t who you are
oh, my love,
you aren’t any of
the terrors
that have made a home
inside of you
they are squatters
who believe that
just because they
left their dirty socks
under your bed that
they have a say in
who you are
they don’t
can I finally tell you
the truth of why
you were created?
~ well, I’m going to anyway
the truth is
you were created
to be the moonlight on
an unmoving lake
reflecting the mystery
of our never ending universe
in your eyes
I swear I can
see a nebula
just inside of
left your pupil
you are the burning
fire in the sky
you are moonlight on the water
and by simply being alive
you are silently inviting the
rest of us to sit by your
shore so that we can bathe
our scars in the shimmer of
your sweet celestial smile
~ you. are. moonlight. on. the. water.
that’s why you were created
~ I promise
don’t believe the interlopers
you are the delicate light
of heaven’s eternal gaze
do you believe that yet?
I know you don’t see it yet
~ but you will
you have let these
devils live inside of
you for too long
you’ve become
used to them
~ but it’s time for them to go
the moonlight on the water
doesn’t need to be obscured
you shine best when the clouds
are invited to leave
we need you to be
at your brightest
I know it sounds selfish
but I need your light
to keep me alive
for the both of us,
it’s time to let all of
the interlopers go
~ every single one of them
~the cannonball
~the ghost
~the wasp
~the burning itch
~the thick knot
it’s time for them to go
open the door
unzip the tent
break the windows
unlock the gate
bulldoze the fence
I don’t care how you do it
but don’t let them stay inside
of you any more
those things aren’t who you are,
remember?
you are the moonlight
on the water
remember?
everything you want
is waiting for you
on the other side
of what you are currently
suffering through
you aren’t what is
happening to you
you aren’t the pain
you aren’t the anxiety
you aren’t the regret
you are the moonlight on the water
oh my love,
the horizon is yawning
here comes the new day
do you believe me, yet?
~ john roedel (johnroedel.com)