Is it the night of power By Bibi Hayati (19th Century) English version by Aliki Barnstone Is it the night of power Or only your hair? Is it dawn Or your face? In the songbook of beauty Is it a deathless first line Or only a fragment copied from your inky eyebrow? Is it boxwood of the orchard Or cypress of the rose garden? The tuba tree of paradise, abundant with dates, Or your standing beautifully straight? Is it musk of a Chinese deer Or scent of delicate rosewater? The rose breathing in the wind Or your perfume? Is it scorching lightning Or light from fire on Sanai Mountain? My hot sigh Or your inner radiance? Is it Mongolian musk Or pure ambergris? Is it your hyacinth curls Or your braids? Is it a glass of red wine at dawn Or white magic? Your drunken narcissus eye Or your spell? Is it the Garden of Eden Or heaven on earth? A mosque of the masters of the heart Or a back alley? Everyone faces a mosque of adobe and mud When they pray. The mosque of Hayatis soul Turns to your face. from The Shambhala Anthology of Womens Spiritual Poetry, Edited by Aliki Barnstone AbeBooks
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 17:07:26 +0000
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