Over a Lonely Cup of Tea, Just God and Me

Tea, my Lord?

Over a Lonely Cup of Tea

With people I have great happiness,

The laughter, the smiles,

The sharing of my days and nights,

The recalling of our fears and tears,
And how things always turn out better.

But when I wake in the morning,

When I am fresh and free

From the sin of being distracted,

It is God who is my best company.

Over a lonely cup of tea,

Just God and me,

I did not call Him,

I did not ask for a meeting,

Often He would simply come unannounced,

Surprising me and whispering, “Miss Me?”

Oh Secret Rapture in my Morning...

Over a lonely cup of tea,

Just You and me,

Dear God,
-     Sometimes I think I am terribly indiscreet. Sort of like kissing and telling. But I don't own you, God. I have no claim over You, while You have all the claim over me. And really, if you wanted me to stop writing this almanac, it is verily within Your power to do so. You need only to stop gazing at me for a moment, and me and all my sordid stories would perish in the blink of an eye. This world, for me, would cease to exist, and I, Taufiq Your sinner, would have been unmade, undone.

- Dear God, I remember a judge who was once passing sentence when he quoted an old Latin phrase, "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad." (Quem deus vult perdere, dementat prius). I think I am a little unhinged by You. Because I read in the newspapers the long sad story of humanity, and their unending anger, hate, hubris and conflict. Then I think of You, and wonder how one can be connected to the other. How man in his madness were ever made in the Likeness of You. This world is turning upside down because they are forgetting You.

- God, if only they were to remember their birth and their mother's love, surely they would not have forgotten You. If only they remember the countless times You intervened into their fate, giving them a little rain to avoid the flood, giving them a little thirst to avoid the drought, giving them a little taste of hate, to understand the Overwhelming Truth of Love. But they do not recollect Your unfailing attention to them, calling such things 'luck', 'coincidences' and 'fate'. Giving thanks to something which does not appreciate their gratitude, while You, my Beautiful Lord, await their attention and their little thanks that they offer You for Your Immeasurable Gift to them and to all humanity.

- Dear Beloved God, I am the worst of my kind. I am the despair of those who love me. I am a recalcitrant sinner. But I remember You. And though I do not see You at all, I feel You in everything...

My Beloved Lord, my Beloved Earth and Sky, my Beloved Moon, my Beloved Sun, My God... the One, the Glittering All in my eye.

Sincerely,

TK