Several years ago I discovered the poetry of Anis Mojgani. A yoga teacher shared pieces of his poem, Shake the Dust, in a class I took. I immediately Googled him and then listened to him recite the poem over and over and over again. I have shared it on this blog before: Shake the Dust
I found myself pulled back to the poem, Shake the Dust, a few evenings ago. Then stumbled across another on of Anis Mojgani’s poems, Come Closer. I listened to it repeatedly, soaking it all in as if he were speaking directly to me. And so I share it here with you.
Come closer.
Come into this.
You are quite the beauty.
If no one has ever told you that before,
know that right now: you are quite the beauty.
There is joy in how your mouth dances with your teeth
Your smiles are simply signs of how sacred your life actually is.
He made you and he was happy.
You make the Lord happy.
Come into this.
Come closer.
Know that something softer than us but just as holy planted the pieces of Himself into our feet that we might one day dance our way back.
Know that you are almost home.
Come just a little bit closer.
There are birds beating their wings beneath your breastplate, gentle sparrows who are aching to sing. Come aching hearts. Come soldiers of joy, doormen of truth. Know that my heart was too big for my body, so I let it go.
And most days this world has thinned me, to the point where I am just another cloud forgetting another flock of swans but believe me when I tell you that my soul has managed to squeeze itself into such narrow spaces; Place your hands beneath your heads when you sleep tonight and perhaps you will find it there making beauty, as we sleep, as we dream, as we turn over, when we turn over in ground may the ghosts that we have asked answers of do that turning, kneading us into crumbs of light and into this thing love, thing called life, come into it!
Come you wooden museums, gentle tigers, little giants!
I see teacups upside down glowing across your grins, your hearts are like my hands, some days all they do is tremble.
I am like you.
I am like you
I too at times am filled with so much fear, so much fear, but like a hallway must find the strength to walk through it.
Walk through this with me.
Through this church of blood, bone, and muscle, that is ours
There is a door knob glowing like chance before you.
Grab it, turn and pull, step through, back straight, chin up, eyes open, hearts loud.
Walk through this with me.
Walk through this with me.
Some of my favorite lines:
Your smiles are simply signs of how sacred your life actually is.
The reminder that we were born to dance…into this world and out of it. We were not born to shuffle or stumble or drag ourselves through each day, but to dance:
Know that something softer than us but just as holy planted the pieces of Himself into our feet that we might one day dance our way back.
The beautiful reminder that deep down, in spite of all our differences, we really are the same:
I am like you.
I am like you
I too at times am filled with so much fear, so much fear, but like a hallway must find the strength to walk through it.
The ending is by far my favorite…lines I fully intend to read at some point this week in the yoga classes I teach.
Walk through this with me.
Through this church of blood, bone, and muscle, that is ours
There is a door knob glowing like chance before you.
Grab it, turn and pull, step through, back straight, chin up, eyes open, hearts loud.
Walk through this with me.
Walk through this with me.
