Category Archives: Poems for Contemplation

“A Man Married to a Blind Woman” by Hafiz

A man married to a blind woman told her how

Beautiful she was every day. And whenever he said

That, she smiled, and her whole body relaxed.

They lived alone at a small remote oasis where

Few ever stopped. And whenever someone did he

Made sure that no one ever saw his wife,

For a person could openly gasp at her appearance

Because she was deformed.

Her husband’s voice and that of her sister, who

Would a few times a year visit, were the only

Ones she really knew. And she loved her simple

Life on the little farm they had.

Appearances, and our relationship, you should

Know the truth of those by now:

If you woke next to me on any day, I would say

To you what he so often did. My dear, you are so

Beautiful.


I love this poem–I have to include it somewhere during this retreat!  I hear in the speaker’s tone such love and tenderness, a grateful heart expressing belovedness.  Isn’t this the very voice of God calling out to you?  My dear, you are so Beautiful.