What is Spiritual Poetry?

14 Jalal 164 B.E. – Sunday, April 22, 2007

For me spiritual poetry is any poem written about God, a spiritual experience, or seeking the eternal Beloved. I read spiritual poetry from several different religious traditions and they all have one thing in common. That is the lover’s experience in relation to the divine essence. Any poem can talk about this experience. Just because a poem appears to refer to nature or daily work or some other subject, doesn’t mean the poet isn’t talking about spiritual experiences or theme. When reading all forms, themes and subjects of poems, we need to look deeper into the poem to find out its true meaning rather than just accepting what’s on the surface.