Hyacinths to Feed Thy Soul

As we progress through Poetry Month, I have been reading many of my old poetry books. Some are journals into which Momma placed her favorites poems, which are now my favorite poems. One of my absolute top ten poems is:

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.

This beautiful verse was written by MOSLIH EDDIN (MUSLIH-UN-DIN) SAADI (SADI), who was a major Persian poet of the medieval times. It is just one of the many beautiful verses in his book Gulistan ("The Rose Garden").

(Photo Credit)

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Also from Gulistan, is the verse which visitors find at the entrance to the United Nations Hall of Nations. It reads:

Human beings are members of a whole,

In creation of one essence and soul.

If one member is afflicted with pain,

Other members uneasy will remain.

If you have no sympathy for human pain,

The name of human you cannot retain.

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Every year at this time, I go out and get myself a hyacinth plant. Often, if visiting friends, I purchase one as a gift, adding the verse, printed out and tied to the plant.

Momma read this often. I think because it helped her to remember to see the beauty in life, even when things felt like they were falling down around her ears. Funny thing, this is exactly what it does for me, too.

Concentrating on the beauty of the hyacinth...its smell, its color, the perfection of its flowers...takes away stress, "feeds the soul," and helps make life a wee bit brighter. Combine the beauty of the hyacinth with the beauty of Saadi's poem and you have the best stress relief outside a bottle!