You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

· · ·

— Mary Oliver

I hear the melody of His flute, and I cannot contain myself: The flower blooms, though it is not spring; and already the bee has received its invitation. The sky roars and the lightning flashes, the waves arise in my heart, The rain falls; and my heart longs for my Lord. Where the rhythm of the world rises and falls, thither my heart has reached: There the hidden banners are fluttering in the air. Kabîr says: "My heart is dying, though it lives."

· · ·

— Kabir

More than all else do I cherish at heart that love which makes me to live a limitless life in this world. It is like the lotus, which lives in the water and blooms in the water: yet the water cannot touch its petals, they open beyond its reach. It is like a wife, who enters the fire at the bidding of love. She burns and lets others grieve, yet never dishonours love. This ocean of the world is hard to cross: its waters are very deep. Kabîr says: "Listen to me, O Sadhu! few there are who have reached its end."

· · ·

— Kabir

“I want to see you. Know your voice. Recognize you when you first come ’round the corner. Sense your scent when I come into a room you’ve just left. Know the lift of your heel, the glide of your foot. Become familiar with the way you purse your lips then let them part, just the slightest bit, when I lean in to your space and kiss you. I want to know the joy of how you whisper “more”

· · ·

— Rumi