The Gift

Stunningly beautiful poetry by a 12th century Persian, Sufi poet. Hafiz was his pen name and his given name was Shams-ud-din Muhammad. His poetry is very spiritual in nature and his many clever turns of phrase are intellectually stimulating. I think the best feature is the emotional depth of his poetry. It strikes me as a cross between zen poetry and that of Kahlil Gibran. I have met a couple people who use this book to randomly select topics to reflect on during meditation and prayer. Hafiz has quite a following and the site of his grave in Shiraz, Iran is a popular tourist destination.