Recognition

Recognition

Word spread about something her eyes whispered

and many gathered to receive her great gifts

when her gaze turned their way.

And it did, that gift they did receive.

For she looked upon all who came close to her

as if she were seeing God.

What the sun in the sky does for the earth

giving life as it does

so can the eye bestow to the heart

when it caresses a face out of recognition.

Who then does not know a moment of happiness

that they can share with another?

And more than that

because of gratitude.

            This poem is multifaceted and I will not be able to outline every interpretation I am considering here. Mainly because hundreds more interpretations might exist seeing as this poem is so intricately beautiful (and because finals week is looming and I don’t have as much time for my entries).  That being said, my first question would be does this woman know us? I believe the answer is “yes”, but not in the way one would think. She does not know us a friend or acquaintance or even from an old passing glance. She knows as a brother or sister of mankind and she greets us as she does God. Why don’t we practice the recognition she is bestowing in our own lives? Hafiz is urging us to do so, saying that surely we have experienced happiness and with that we must be grateful enough to share it with any human that passes our way in the web of existence. It is in this “sharing” that we can come to recognize anyone, for who is a stranger to the gift of happiness (a smile)?