Kandahar and Herát searched I wistfully through;
Nor above, nor beneath, came the LOVED ONE to view.
I toiled to the summit, wild, pathless, and lone,
Of the globe-girding Káf;-but the Anka had flown!
The seventh earth I travers'd-the sev'nth heav'n explor'd,
But in neither discern'd I the Court of the LORD!
I question'd the Pen and the Tablet of Fate,
But they whisper'd not where He pavilions His state:
My vision I strain'd; but my God-scanning eye
No trace, that to Godhead belongs, could descry.
My glance I bent inward: Within my own breast,
Lo, the vainly sought elsewhere! the Godhead confess'd!
In the whirl of its transport my spirit was toss'd,
Till each atom of separate being I lost;
And the bright Sun of Tauriz-a madder than he,
Or a wilder, the world hath not seen, nor shall see!
FROM JAMI'S SALAMAN AND ABSAL.
O Thou whose Memory quickens Lovers' Souls,
Whose Fount of Joy renews the Lover's Tongue,
Thy Shadow falls across the World, and They
Bow down to it; and of the Rich in Beauty
Thou art the Riches that make Lovers mad.
Not till thy Secret Beauty through the Cheek
Of LAILA Smite does she inflame MAJNÚN,
And not till Thou hast sugared Shírín's Lip
The Hearts of those Two Lovers fill with Blood.
For Lov'd and Lover are not but by Thee,
Nor Beauty;-Mortal Beauty but the Veil
Thy Heavenly hides behind, and from itself
Feeds, and our Hearts yearn after as a Bride
That glances past us Veiled-but ever so
As none the Beauty from the Veil may know.
How long wilt Thou continue thus the World
To cozen with the Phantom of a Veil
From which Thou only peepest?-Time it is.
To unfold Thy perfect Beauty. I would be
Thy Lover, and Thine only-I, mine Eyes
Seal'd in the Light of Thee to all but Thee,
Yea, in the Revelation of Thyself
Self-Lost, and Conscience-quit of Good and Evil.
Thou movest under all the Forms of Truth,
Under the Forms of all Created Things;
Look where I will, still nothing I discern
But Thee in all the Universe, in which
Thyself Thou dost invest, and through the Eyes
Of MAN, the subtle Censor, scrutinize.
To Thy Harím DIVIDUALITY
No Entrance finds-no Word of THIS and THAT:
Do Thou my separate and Derivéd Self
Make One with thy Essential! Leave me room
On that Díván which leaves no room for Two;
Lest like the simple Kurd of whom they tell,
I grow perplext, oh God! 'twixt "I" and "THOU";
If I this Dignity and Wisdom whence?
If THOU-then whence this abject Impotence?
FROM THE MYSTICAL MASNAVI
Take back this goblet, boy,-thy boasted wine. Sparkles less brightly than our sparkling wit. Nay! we succumb not to the drink divine, 'Tis we that steal away the sense of it. 'We live and die', ye say. It were more fit To say that we ourselves are life and death: Here is the very rock on which ye splitMatter and spirit. But I waste my breath; The ears of deaf men hear not what the preacher saith.
Wherefore, blind captives, will ye hug your chain,
And bless the net that doth your limbs enfold?
Why will ye live the slaves of loss and gain,
And barter precious liberty for gold?
What though your water-jar the ocean hold?
'Tis but the scanty pittance of a day Compared with long Eternity. Behold! Fast as ye fill the waters waste away;
Seek then the fount of Love, for Love flows on for aye.
Even the lowly carth hath dared to rise,
For that in Love she taketh such delight,
And sits enthroned above the darkling skies,
Gazing for ever on this rising light.
Moses erewhile fell fainting at the sight
Of that fierce flame descended from above,
Which thrilled the very mountains with affright,
And made grey Sinai's firm foundations move;
'Twas but a scintillation from the fire of Love.
How shall I hope to make my meaning plain,
Who sing thus faintly as the rushes moan?
Ah me! the sweetest singer sings in vain,
Unless the language of his song be known.
The garden's beauty hath for ever flown,
No perfumed odours float upon the air,
But the sad nightingale who sits alone.
Upon the rose-tree, singeth still how fair
The tender blossoms and the sweet young flow'rets were.
Nature's great secret let me now rehearse
Long have I pondered o'er the wondrous tale,
How Love immortal fills the universe,
Tarrying till mortals shall His presence hail;
But man, alas! hath interposed a veil,
And Love behind the lover's self doth hide,
Shall Love's great kindness prove of none avail?
When will ye cast the veil of sense aside,
Content in finding Love to lose all else beside?
Love's radiance shineth round about our heads
As sportive sunbeams on the waters play;
Alas! we revel in the light He sheds
Without reflecting back a single ray.
The human soul, as reverend preachers say,
Is as a mirror to reflect God's grace;
Keep, then, its surface bright while yet ye may,
For on a mirror with a dusty face
The brightest object sheweth not the faintest trace.
4. They through the fields of Paradise that roam,
And glorious forests, sing
8. First let the birds, with painted plumage gay,
Exalt their great CREATOR's praise and say
9. Then let the beasts of earth, with varying strain, Join in Creation's Hymn, and cry again.
10. Here let the mountains thunder forth, sonorous,
There, let the valleys sing in gentler chorus,
II. Thou jubilant abyss of ocean, cry
Ye tracts of earth and continents, reply
12. To God, Who all Creation made,
The frequent hymn be duly paid:
13. This is the strain, the eternal strain, the LORD of all
This is the song, the heav'nly song, that CHRIST Him
14. Wherefore we sing, both heart and voice awaking, And children's voices echo, answer making
15. Now from all men be outpour'd
Alleluia to the LORD;
With Alleluia evermore
The SON and SPIRIT we adore.
16. Praise be done to the THREE in ONE. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Come, O Creator Spirit blest!
And in our souls take up thy rest;
Come with thy grace and heavenly aid,
To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
Great Paraclete! to Thee we cry:
O highest gift of God most high!
O fount of life! O fire of love!
And solemn unction from above!
The sacred sevenfold grace is thine
Dread Finger of the hand divine!
The promise of the Father Thou!
Who dost the tongue with power endow.
Our senses touch with light and fire;
Our hearts with charity inspire;
And with endurance from on high
The weakness of our flesh supply.
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