Inside This Clay Jug

by Kabir


Inside this clay jug

there are canyons and

pine mountains,

and the maker of canyons

and pine mountains!

All seven oceans are inside,

and hundreds of millions of stars.

The acid that tests gold is here,

and the one who judges jewels.

And the music

that comes from the strings

that no one touches,

and the source of all water.

If you want the truth, I will tell you the truth:

Friend, listen: the God whom I love is inside.


Kabir, adapted by Robert Bly in Kabir, Ecstatic Poems (Beacon Press, 2007)