Poems on the Desert
“Oh that the desert were my dwelling place,
With only one fair spirit for my minster.
That I might forget the human race,
And hating no one, love her only.”
The Desert and Spirituality
The desert has a strong relationship with spiritual quests. The desert itself invokes images of a vast expanse, where man may be alone to commune with the higher power and forces of nature. For the Sufi poet Rumi, poetry about the desert was an allegory for a spiritual quest of the Soul journeying into the infinite.
The desert has inspired several religions and spiritual figures dating back to the ancient Egyptian religions and worship of the sun God Ra. According to the Bible Jesus Christ spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert where he forsook all earthly temptations. This trial in the desert was an important part of his spiritual training and spiritual mission. Mohammed the prophet of Islam loved the deserts and mountains and often spent time meditating and praying in the silence of the desert.
Poems about the Desert
“In the Desert of the heart,
Let the healing start;
In the prison of his days,
Teach the free man to praise.”
– W.H.Auden
- Psalm 63
- The Desert Has Many Teachings – Mechtild of Magdeburg
” In the desert,
Turn toward emptiness,
Fleeing the self….”
For your sake, I hurry over land and water:
For your sake, I cross the desert and split the mountain in two,
And turn my face from all things,
Until the time I reach the place
Where I am alone with You.”
– Photo Copyright: Unmesh Swanson
External Resources
- The Way of the Desert – Timothy FrekeSome of the poems on this page were taken from this excellent book by Timothy Freke.
- Books on the Desert at Amazon.com
- Information on Deserts