Poem XVI

1Show thy face, for I desire the orchard and the rose-garden;Ope thy lips, for I desire sugar in plenty.

2O sun, show forth thy face from the veil of cloud,For I desire that radiant glowing countenance.

3From love for thee I hearkened to the sound of the falcon-drum;I have returned, for the sultan’s arm is my desire.

4‘Vex me no more,’ thou saidst capriciously, ‘begone!’I desire that saying of thine, ‘Vex me no more.’

5And thy bidding off with ‘Depart, he is not at home,’And the airs and pride and harshness of the door-keeper I desire.

6O sweet zephyr, that blowest from the flower-plot of the Friend,Blow on me, for I desire news of the basil.

7The bread and water of destiny is like a treacherous flood;I am a great fish and desire the sea of ‘Omān.

8Like Jacob I am uttering cries of grief,I desire the fair face of Joseph of Canaan.

9By God, without thee the city is a prison to me,O’er mountain and desert I desire to wander.

10In one hand a wine-cup and in one hand a curl of the Beloved:Such a dance in the midst of the market-place is my desire.

11My heart is weary of these weak-spirited companions;I desire the Lion of God and Rustam, son of Zāl.

12Filings of beauty are in the possession of every one that exists;I desire that quarry and that mine of exquisite loveliness.

13Bankrupt tho’ I be, I will not accept a small carnelian;The mine of rare tremulous carnelian is my desire.

14Of this folk I am full of complaint, weeping and weary;I desire the drunkards’ wailing and lamentation.

15My soul is grown weary of Pharaoh and his tyranny;I desire the light of the countenance of Moses, son of ‘Imrān.

16They said, ‘He is not to be found, we have sought Him long.’A thing which is not to be found—that is my desire.

17I am more eloquent than the nightingale, but because of vulgar envyA seal is on my tongue, tho’ I desire to moan.

18Yesterday the Master with a lantern was roaming about the city,Crying, ‘I am tired of devil and beast, I desire a man.’

19My state has passed even beyond all yearning and desire;I desire to go from Being and Place toward the Essentials.

20He is hidden from our eyes, and all objects are from Him;I desire that hidden One whose works are manifest.

21Mine ear listened to the tale of faith and was intoxicated;Say, ‘The limbs and the body and the form of faith are my desire.’

22I myself am Love’s rebeck, and Love is a rebeck to me;I desire the hand and bosom and modulation of ‘Othmān.

23That rebeck is saying, ‘Every moment passionatelyI desire the favours of the mercy of the Merciful.’