Eighth Note

In Sufi poetry, with poetry of course serving as our ultimate meta-analysis of reality itself, the relationship between lover and the beloved is analogized or symbolized by the relationship between the nightingale (lover) and the rose (beloved). And this relationship or “the game of love” between lover and beloved is one of give and take, whereby the rose gives the nightingale the nectar it needs to carry out his functions such as carrying pollen to other plants, thus reinforcing and enriching the rose itself. Such is the give and take or “the game of love” between lover and the beloved.