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Daniel Favano

Mosaic 1 – Harris-Shapiro

Reader's Response: Love's Alchemy – Sufi Poetry

Love. What is it? How can it be defined? What effect does it have on society, and more so, on

oneself? Through reading the assigned poems and personal relations to them, I have come to a few

conclusions: Love's “slavery” frees the soul from mortal suffering; Freedom of attachment also frees

the soul from mortal suffering, and therefore love's slavery greatly involves the freedom of attachment;

The acceptance of the need for love, and the willingness to succumb to the destructive and productive

 powers of love can allow one to let go of mortal separations, such as death; True love removes labeling

that separates our society. Some of these conclusions seem easy to understand, and some of them are

 paradoxical and somewhat harder to understand.

In “Bloom Like a Rose,” I saw someone who no longer needed to run around like a free spirit

without love, for the love's chains paradoxically made him more free than he had ever been. That may

 be more spiritual and emotional than literal. I think anyone can agree that when you are in real love you

need not worry about your past freedoms, for these new limitations grant new sets of freedoms never 

seen before (hopefully, the divorce rate is extremely high). “Attachment” essentially gave me the same

feelings, but with the idea of getting rid of attachments as the main element. However, letting go of 

attachments may also be a major element in love. In watching The Girl Next Door this weekend, I got

the idea of fighting for what, or who, you desired, against all odds. In order to fight for love, you must

let go of attachments that would hinder you in this fight, therefore in order to love, you must let go of 

attachments, and once you reach your true love, you will no longer have mortal suffering.

When you love someone, their death is painful, but paradoxically survivable. The two poems

“Without You,” and “The Bubble” try to explain this. When I read these two poems together, I thought

 back to the deaths of my great-grandparents. I lived in their home and was their caregiver (free of 

charge, of course) for the last two-and-a-half years of their lives, and grew an extremely string parent-

child love for them. Their deaths were extremely difficult, and I had become depressed for a few

8/7/2019 My Reaction after reading Sufi Poetry

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months, however I got over it within a year, while their children who did not see them as often are still

somewhat depressed (it's been nearly four years). Maybe this explains that phenomenon, but I'm not

sure; I never really liked poetry.

“Beyond distinctions” seemed to reflect the always-spoken theory that love generates equality

and happiness in a society. From civil rights, to the hippie movement, to LGBTQ rights, the theory of 

loving each other and the elimination of labels for equality has always resonated, especially in the

United States. It's ironic that a society that relates so much to Islam, is so vehemently against it.

Overall, Sufism seems to say that love is the most powerful force, next to “God.” Except for the

monotheism, I'd have to agree (for once) with this religion's theory of life. It seems livable within my

means. Also, being a hopeless romantic makes it somewhat more enjoyable to read.