"People from many religious traditions share the belief that there are always living persons who are one with God. These rare souls disseminate light upon this earth and entrust the Divine to others. Hafiz is regarded as one who came to live in that sacred union, and sometimes in his poems he speaks directly of that experience." Preface, page 3

"...Hafiz does not see God as separate from the world — wherever there is love, there is the Beloved. The Indian Sufi teacher Inayat Khan explained, 'The mission of Hafiz was to express to a fanatical religious world that the presence of God is not to be found only in heaven, but also here on earth.'" Introduction, page 18

"Why complain if you are looking/ To quench your spirit's longing/ And have followed a rat into a dessert[?]" Chapter 1, "Looking for a Good Fish," page 24

"My dear, is your...