The Peacock Stage

 

Surprise! Another dream page. I started embroidering this page during the summer of 2020, when I lived with my brother, Jenny, and Felix. 

I remember waking up from a vivid dream about a peacock. The bird was in the middle of an ocean of flames, it's tail fully displayed. The bird was not burning, it seemed to be protected from the fire. It seemed reminiscent of the story of the phoenix rising but since the peacock wasn't burning, that didn't quite make sense.

I have dreamed about peacocks once before, probably over 20 years ago. I can still see it in my mind. It was a beautiful scene, two peacocks flying. I remember going to work and being mystified by it all day. I kept wondering, can peacocks fly? I have since discovered that they do! 

I like this poem by Rumi. "I wish to see you with a hundred eyes" makes me think of the peacock's "eye" feathers.

Looking for Your Face

From the beginning of my life
I have been looking for your face
but today I have seen it

Today I have seen
the charm, the beauty,
the unfathomable grace
of the face
that I was looking for

Today I have found you
and those who laughed
and scorned me yesterday
are sorry that they were not looking
as I did

I am bewildered by the magnificence
of your beauty
and wish to see you
with a hundred eyes

My heart has burned with passion
and has searched forever
for this wondrous beauty
that I now behold

I am ashamed
to call this love human
and afraid of God
to call it divine

Your fragrant breath
like the morning breeze
has come to the stillness of the garden
You have breathed new life into me
I have become your sunshine
and also your shadow

My soul is screaming in ecstasy
Every fiber of my being
is in love with you

Your effulgence
has lit a fire in my heart
and you have made radiant
for me
the earth and sky

My arrow of love
has arrived at the target
I am in the house of mercy
and my heart
is a place of prayer