Poetry Chaikhana ivan@poetry-chaikhana.com (Ivan M. Granger)

Yunus Emre - "True speech is the fruit of not speaking." - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. With this song, Yunus Emre gives us a sharply teasing reminder that even if we follow all of the rules of our religious tradition, that's not the same thing as achieving saintliness or holiness.

Akka Mahadevi - "You are the forest" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. I really like the image of God (in this case, Shiva) as a forest, as every tree in the forest, and simultaneously as the myriad of animals "playing in and out / of all the trees".

Mary Oliver - "Sunrise" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. Another way to enter fire today from Mary Oliver...

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir - "Love came" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger.

Hakim Sanai - "Belief brings me close to You" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. Belief, devout religious practice will bring you close, but only so far... (And Ivan gets a little creative with his audio editing.)

Thomas Merton - "The Sowing of Meanings" - with commentary by Ivan M. Granger. An Easter poem for us today...