Sunday Playlist - 6/6/2021

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzrVlXh4mc1PcpHU7I-O6eIObG5CfGicM

In my poetry course this spring, I taught a student from Afghanistan. He often introduced us to work from the rich Persian-language tradition. I've since been reading (in translation) work by the poet Sanai, who lived in the 13th century and is among the mystic poets. Here is an excerpt from a wonderful poem called "Earthworm Guidance" in a translation by Coleman Barks:

...Don't cry

your grief. God is already saying it.

He hears the ant's foot touching

the rock at night, and the stone

shifting in the stream, and the worm's

song of praise inside the ground.

There's a way in which the message in those images resonates with the gospel tune, "Leave It To Jesus," on this week's playlist. I've also included a performance by the Azerbaijani vocalist, Alim Qasimov. I could not find a translation of the lyrics, but it's possible that the music communicates all we need. It is titled, "A Trace of Grace."