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The Trap

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on February 25, 2026| 8 Comments »


for Coleman Barks (April 23, 1937-Feb. 23, 2026)
 
 
It took me six months
to get Coleman Barks
to grant me permission
to use his translations of Rumi.
Six months of fretting.
Six months of worry.
Six months of feeling unworthy.
One day my friend asked
what was taking so long.
I told her, I hadn’t yet summoned
the courage to ask him.
In five minutes, she’d found me
his email. That night I wrote him.
The next day, he responded.
Of course. Please use them.
Fear is a trap. It uses self-doubt
as bait. But sometimes
generosity breaks the steel wire.
The trap never works as well again.
Years later, I remember his kindness
and the clarity of my friend.
How quickly joy can find legs.
Joy is the mouse that sees the trap
and knows there are better
places to find nourishment.
Joy is the mouse that sees the trap
and walks the other way.
 

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