New Year Magic

Finding the ONE

On the island of Koh Samet… a fire show on the beach

Spending time in Thailand before Christmas felt fortunate— a tasty gift of culture and beauty. Not sure if it’s the midwestern in me, the smudge of Catholic school, or too much Sound of Music (the guilty lyric “I must have done something good,” to deserve this!) that I didn’t want to post resort pictures on my Instagram.

It felt too privileged White Lotus, too uncompassionate to those who had died in southern Thailand in floods. Reality is a mess, so how dare I reap any rewards?

But, I remind myself: this was all brought to me by love. My love, who gifted that experience, and so many others, to me.

To my love, I had a few gifts, but the best seemed to be a short compilation of Rumi’s poems, translated by Haleh Liza Gafori. The very first is this one:

From the book Gold, by Rumi (translated by Haleh Liza Gafori) :

Let Love,

the water of life,

flow through our veins.


Let a Love-drunk mirror 

steeped in the wine of dawn

translate night.


You who pour the wine,

put the cup of oneness in my hand

and let me drink from it

until I can’t imagine separation…

(for complete poem, see NYRB classics)

That poem leapt from the page as well as Gafori’s introduction, where she clarified that for Rumi — love and consciousness co-exist. Here is Gafori’s acceptance speech at the Poetry Society of New York where she writes of staying tender in our turbulent times and finding others of like mind.

She also quotes Rumi’s imperative for joy and togetherness in the face of the world’s discord in ghazal, number 2144:

Say scorpions, thorns, and snakes overrun the world,
even so, you are brimming with joy. 

                       Where is your garden? Take us to the flowers.

Say misers rule. Generosity fades from memory.
Still, your eyes see, your heart is full.

Rumi continues:

Come, let’s put this aside,
We’re drunk on a lofty ale and it’s getting late. 

                       Where, my friend, is your tavern? 
                       Take us there. 

Gafori writes: “And that tavern? That’s where meaning is on tap. That’s where Love is on tap. That’s where oneness is on tap. The armor thins. The walls between us come down.”

Back to Rumi’s poem about love. On New Year’s Day, I went to a tavern of friendship with two dear friends, Genesis and Martin and two new friends. There, music was on tap and a looper (if there’s a more technical word, I can’t find it). I’m a spazz when it comes to music, but Rumi’s love poem to oneness was looping in my mind. I asked to read it.

I love this image of the musicians (and technicians) and Genesis hula-hooping in the background and Maizie the dog gnawing her bone to the rhythms.

And here is the loop:

May this new year keep your eyes open, and your heart tender ~~~

May you drink from the cup of oneness~~