Others

Cezanne's Ports

In the foreground we see time and life
swept in a race
toward the left hand side of the picture
where shore meets shore.


But that meeting place
isn't represented;
it doesn't occur on the canvas.


For the other side of the bay
is Heaven and Eternity,
with a bleak white haze over its mountains.


And the immense water of L'Estaque is a go-between
for minute rowboats.

An Asphodel

O dear sweet rosy
unattainable desire
...how sad, no way
to change the mad
cultivated asphodel, the
visible reality...

and skin's appalling
petals--how inspired
to be so Iying in the living
room drunk naked
and dreaming, in the absence
of electricity...
over and over eating the low root
of the asphodel,
gray fate...

rolling in generation
on the flowery couch
as on a bank in Arden-my
only rose tonite's the treat
of my own nudity.

An Asphodel

O dear sweet rosy
unattainable desire
...how sad, no way
to change the mad
cultivated asphodel, the
visible reality...

and skin's appalling
petals--how inspired
to be so Iying in the living
room drunk naked
and dreaming, in the absence
of electricity...
over and over eating the low root
of the asphodel,
gray fate...

rolling in generation
on the flowery couch
as on a bank in Arden-my
only rose tonite's the treat
of my own nudity.

Syllables at Rocky Mountain Dharma Center

Tail turned to red sunset on a juniper crown a lone magpie cawks.
Mad at Oryoki in the shrine-room -- Thistles blossomed late afternoon.
Put on my shirt and took it off in the sun walking the path to lunch.
A dandelion seed floats above the marsh grass with the mosquitos.
At 4 A.M. the two middleaged men sleeping together holding hands.
In the half-light of dawn a few birds warble under the Pleiades.
Sky reddens behind fir trees, larks twitter, sparrows cheep cheep cheep


cheep cheep.

The One I Was Searching For On the Earth and in Heaven

The one I was searching for on the earth and in heaven
Appeared residing in the recesses of my own heart


When the reality of the self became evident to my eyes
The house appeared among residents of my own heart


If it were somewhat familiar with taste of rubbing foreheads
The stone of Ka’ba’s threshold would have joined the foreheads


O Majnun! Have you ever glanced at yourself
That like Layla you are also sitting in the litter


The months of the union continue flying like moments
But the moments of separation linger for months!


O seaman, how will you protect me from being drowned
As those destined to drowning get drowned in the boats also


The one who concealed His Beauty from Kalim Allah
The same Beloved is manifest among beloveds


The breath of Lovers can light up the extinguished candle
O God! What is kept concealed in the breast of the Lovers?


Serve the fakirs if you have the longing for Love
This pearl is not available in the treasures of kings


Do not ask of these Devotees, if you have faith, you should look at them
They have the illuminated palm up their sleeves


The insightful eye for whose spectacle is tantalized
That elegance of congregation is in these very recluses


Burn the produce of your heart with some such spark
That the Last Day’s sun may also be among your gleaners


For Love search for some heart which would become mortified
This is the wine which is not kept in delicate wine glasses


The Beauty itself becomes the Lover of whose Beauty
O Heart! Does someone among the beautiful has that beauty?


Someone became highly excited at your grace of Ma’arafna
Your rank remained among the most elegant of all the Lovers


Manifest Thyself and show them Thy Beauty some time
Talks have continued among the sagacious since long time


Silent, O Heart! Crying in the full assembly is not good
Decorum is the most important etiquette among the ways of Love


It is not possible for me to deem my critics bad



Because Iqbal, I am myself among my critics

The Sun

O Sun! The world's essence and motivator you are
The organizer of the book of the world you are

The splendor of existence has been created by you
The verdure of the garden of existence depends on you

The spectacle of elements is maintained by you
The exigency of life in all is maintained by you

Your appearance confers stability on everything
Your illumination and concord is completion of life

You are the sun which establishes light in the world
Which establishes heart, intellect, essence and wisdom

O Sun! Bestow on us the light of wisdom
Bestow your luster's light on the intellect's eye

You are the decorator of necessaries of existence' assemblage
You are the Yazdan of the denizens of the high and the low

Your excellence is reflected from every living thing
The mountain range also shows your elegance

You are the sustainer of the life of all
You are the king of the light's children

There is no beginning and no end of yours
Free of limits of time is the light of yours

The Sun

O Sun! The world's essence and motivator you are
The organizer of the book of the world you are

The splendor of existence has been created by you
The verdure of the garden of existence depends on you

The spectacle of elements is maintained by you
The exigency of life in all is maintained by you

Your appearance confers stability on everything
Your illumination and concord is completion of life

You are the sun which establishes light in the world
Which establishes heart, intellect, essence and wisdom

O Sun! Bestow on us the light of wisdom
Bestow your luster's light on the intellect's eye

You are the decorator of necessaries of existence' assemblage
You are the Yazdan of the denizens of the high and the low

Your excellence is reflected from every living thing
The mountain range also shows your elegance

You are the sustainer of the life of all
You are the king of the light's children

There is no beginning and no end of yours
Free of limits of time is the light of yours

The Morning Sun

Far from the ignoble strife of Man's tavern you are
The wine-cup adorning the sky's assemblage you are

The jewel which should be the pearl of the morning's bride's ear you are
The ornament which would be the pride of horizon's forehead you are

The blot of night's ink from time's page has been removed!
The star from sky like a spurious picture has been removed!

When from the roof of the sky your beauty appears
Effect of sleep's wine suddenly from eyes disappears

Perception's expanse gets filled with light
Though opens only the material eye your light

The spectacle which the eyes seek is desired
The effulgence which would open the insight is desired

The desires for freedom were not fulfilled in this life
We remained imprisoned in chains of dependence all life

The high and the low are alike for your eye
I too have longing for such a discerning eye

May my eye shedding tears in sympathy for others' woes be!
May my heart free from the prejudice of nation and customs be!

May my tongue be not bound with discrimination of color
May mankind be my nation, the whole world my country be

May secret of Nature's organization clear to my insight be
May smoke of my imagination's candle rising to the sky be

May search for secrets of opposites not make me restless!
May the Love-creating Beauty in everything appear to me!

If the rose petals get damaged by the breeze
May its pain dropping from my eye as a tear be

May the heart contain that little spark of Love's fire
The light of which may contain the secret of the Truth

May my heart not mine but the Beloved's mirror be!
May no thought in my mind except human sympathy be!

If you cannot endure the hardships of the tumultuous world
O the Great Luminary that is not the mark of greatness!

As you are not aware of your world-decorating beauty
You cannot be equal to a speck of dust at the Man's door!

The light of Man eager for the Spectacle ever remained


And you obligated to the tomorrow's morning ever remained

Longing for the Light of the Truth is only in our hearts
Abode of Lailah of desire for search is only in this litter
Opening of the difficult knot, Oh what a pleasure it is!

The pleasure of universal gain in our endless effort is!

Your bosom is unacquainted with the pain of investigation
You are not familiar with searching of the secrets of Nature

The Morning Sun

Far from the ignoble strife of Man's tavern you are
The wine-cup adorning the sky's assemblage you are

The jewel which should be the pearl of the morning's bride's ear you are
The ornament which would be the pride of horizon's forehead you are

The blot of night's ink from time's page has been removed!
The star from sky like a spurious picture has been removed!

When from the roof of the sky your beauty appears
Effect of sleep's wine suddenly from eyes disappears

Perception's expanse gets filled with light
Though opens only the material eye your light

The spectacle which the eyes seek is desired
The effulgence which would open the insight is desired

The desires for freedom were not fulfilled in this life
We remained imprisoned in chains of dependence all life

The high and the low are alike for your eye
I too have longing for such a discerning eye

May my eye shedding tears in sympathy for others' woes be!
May my heart free from the prejudice of nation and customs be!

May my tongue be not bound with discrimination of color
May mankind be my nation, the whole world my country be

May secret of Nature's organization clear to my insight be
May smoke of my imagination's candle rising to the sky be

May search for secrets of opposites not make me restless!
May the Love-creating Beauty in everything appear to me!

If the rose petals get damaged by the breeze
May its pain dropping from my eye as a tear be

May the heart contain that little spark of Love's fire
The light of which may contain the secret of the Truth

May my heart not mine but the Beloved's mirror be!
May no thought in my mind except human sympathy be!

If you cannot endure the hardships of the tumultuous world
O the Great Luminary that is not the mark of greatness!

As you are not aware of your world-decorating beauty
You cannot be equal to a speck of dust at the Man's door!

The light of Man eager for the Spectacle ever remained


And you obligated to the tomorrow's morning ever remained

Longing for the Light of the Truth is only in our hearts
Abode of Lailah of desire for search is only in this litter
Opening of the difficult knot, Oh what a pleasure it is!

The pleasure of universal gain in our endless effort is!

Your bosom is unacquainted with the pain of investigation
You are not familiar with searching of the secrets of Nature

The Intellect And The Heart

One day Intellect said to the heart
'A guide to the misguided ones I am

Being on the earth I reach up to the sky
Look, how deep in comprehension I am

Guidance on earth is my sole occupation
Like the auspicious Khidr 1 in character I am

Interpreter of the book of life I am
The Manifestation of God's Glory I am

You are only a dropp of blood, but
The invaluable ruby's envy I am'

Hearing this the heart said, 'All this is true
But look at me as well, what I am

You understand the secrets of life
But seeing them with my own eyes I am

Concerned with the manifest order you are
And acquainted with the inward I am

Learning is from you, but Divine Knowledge is from me
You only seek Divinity, but showing Divinity I am

Restlessness is the end of Knowledge 2
But the remedy for that malady I am

You are the candle of the assembly of Truth
The lamp of the Divine Beauty's assemblage I am

You are related to time and space
The bird recognizing the Sidrah 3 I am

Look at the grandeur of my station
The throne of the God of Majesty I am

The Intellect And The Heart

One day Intellect said to the heart
'A guide to the misguided ones I am

Being on the earth I reach up to the sky
Look, how deep in comprehension I am

Guidance on earth is my sole occupation
Like the auspicious Khidr 1 in character I am

Interpreter of the book of life I am
The Manifestation of God's Glory I am

You are only a dropp of blood, but
The invaluable ruby's envy I am'

Hearing this the heart said, 'All this is true
But look at me as well, what I am

You understand the secrets of life
But seeing them with my own eyes I am

Concerned with the manifest order you are
And acquainted with the inward I am

Learning is from you, but Divine Knowledge is from me
You only seek Divinity, but showing Divinity I am

Restlessness is the end of Knowledge 2
But the remedy for that malady I am

You are the candle of the assembly of Truth
The lamp of the Divine Beauty's assemblage I am

You are related to time and space
The bird recognizing the Sidrah 3 I am

Look at the grandeur of my station
The throne of the God of Majesty I am

The Crescent

The sun's boat is broken and drowned in the Nile
But a piece is floating about on the water of the Nile

The twilight's pure blood drips into the sky's basin
Has the lancet of Nature drawn the sun's blood?

Has the sky stolen the ear ring of the evening's bride?
Or has the fragile cord in the Nile's waters strolling?

Your caravan is afoot without help of bell's call
The human ear cannot hear your foot-steps' sound

You show the spectacle of rise and fall to the eyes
Where is your home? To which country are you going?

O star-like planet take me with yourself
The prick of Longing's thorn keeps me restless

I am seeking light, I am weary in this habitation
I am the restless child in the existence's school…

The Cloud On The Mountain

Elevation bestows the sky's nearness to my abode
I am the mountain's cloud, my skirt sprinkles roses

Now the wilderness, now the rose garden is my abode
City and wilderness are mine, ocean is mine, forest is mine

If I want to return to some valley for the night
The mountain's verdure is my carpet of velvet

Nature has taught me to be a pearl spreader
To chant the camel song for the camel of the Beloved of Mercy

To be the comforter of the dispirited farmer's heart
To be the elegance of the assembly of the garden's trees

I spread out over the face of the earth like the locks
I get arranged and adorned by the breeze's

I tantalize the expecting eye from a distance
As I pass silently over some habitation

As I approach strolling towards a brook's bank
I endow the brook with ear rings of whirlpools

I am the hope of the freshly grown field's verdure
I am the ocean's offspring, I am nourished by the sun

I gave ocean's tumult to the mountain spring
I charmed the birds into thrilling chants

I pronounced 'Rise' standing by the verdure's head
I conferred the taste for smile to the rose-bud

By my benevolence farmers' huts on the mountain side
Are converted into bed chambers of the opulent.

The Cloud On The Mountain

Elevation bestows the sky's nearness to my abode
I am the mountain's cloud, my skirt sprinkles roses

Now the wilderness, now the rose garden is my abode
City and wilderness are mine, ocean is mine, forest is mine

If I want to return to some valley for the night
The mountain's verdure is my carpet of velvet

Nature has taught me to be a pearl spreader
To chant the camel song for the camel of the Beloved of Mercy

To be the comforter of the dispirited farmer's heart
To be the elegance of the assembly of the garden's trees

I spread out over the face of the earth like the locks
I get arranged and adorned by the breeze's

I tantalize the expecting eye from a distance
As I pass silently over some habitation

As I approach strolling towards a brook's bank
I endow the brook with ear rings of whirlpools

I am the hope of the freshly grown field's verdure
I am the ocean's offspring, I am nourished by the sun

I gave ocean's tumult to the mountain spring
I charmed the birds into thrilling chants

I pronounced 'Rise' standing by the verdure's head
I conferred the taste for smile to the rose-bud

By my benevolence farmers' huts on the mountain side
Are converted into bed chambers of the opulent.

The Candle

O Candle! I am also an afflicted person in the world assembly
Constant complaint is my lot in the manner of the rue


Love gave the warmth of internal pathos to you
It made me the florist selling blood-mixed tears


Whether you be the candle of a celebrating assembly or one at the grave
In every condition associated with the tears of sorrow you remain


Your eye views all with equity like the Secret's Lovers
My eye is the pride of the tumult of discrimination


Your illumination is alike in the Ka'bah and the temple
I am entangled in the temple and the Haram's discrimination


Your black smoke contains the sigh's elegance
Is some heart hidden in the place of your manifestation?


You burn with pathos due to distance from Tajalli's Light
Your pathos the callous ones consider your light


Though you are burning you are unaware of it all
You see but do not encompass the internal pathos


I quiver like mercury with the excitement of vexation
As well I am aware of vexations of the restless heart


This was also the elegance of some Beloved
Which gave me perception of my own pathos


This cognition of mine keeps me restless
Innumerable fire temples are asleep in this spark


Discrimination between high and low is created by this alone!
Fragrance in flower, ecstasy in wine is created by this alone!


Garden, nightingale, flower, fragrance this Cognition is
Root of the struggle of ‘I and you' this Cognition is


At creation's dawn as Beauty became the abode of Love
The sound of "Kun" taught warmth to the spirit of Love


The command came Beauty of Kun's garden to witness
With one eye a thousand dreadful dreams to witness
Do not ask me of the nature of the veil of being
The eve of separation was the dawn of my being


Gone are the days when unaware of imprisonment I was
That my abode the adornment of the tree of Tur was
I am a prisoner but consider the cage to be a garden



This exile's hovel of sorrow I consider the homeland


Memories of the homeland a needless melancholy became
Now the desire for sight, now Longing for search became
O Candle! Look at the excessive illusion of thought
Look at the end of the one worshipped by celestial denizens


Theme of separation I am, the exalted one I am
Design of the Will of the Universe's Lord I am


He desired my display as He designed me
When at the head of Existence' Divan He wrote me


The pearl likes living in a handful of dust
Style may be dull the subject is excellent


Not seeing it rightly is the fault of shortsighted perception
The universe is the show of effulgence of taste for Cognizance


This network of time and space is the scaling ladder of the Universe
It is the necklace of the neck of Eternal BeautyI
have lost the way, Longing for the goal I am
O Candle! Captive of perception's illusion I am


I am the hunter as well as the circle of tyranny's net!
I am the Haram's roof as well as the bird on Haram's roofAm I the Beauty or head to
foot the melting love am I?
It is not clear whether the beloved or the Lover am I?


am afraid the old secret may come up to my lips again
Lest story of suffering on the Cross may come up again.

The Candle

O Candle! I am also an afflicted person in the world assembly
Constant complaint is my lot in the manner of the rue


Love gave the warmth of internal pathos to you
It made me the florist selling blood-mixed tears


Whether you be the candle of a celebrating assembly or one at the grave
In every condition associated with the tears of sorrow you remain


Your eye views all with equity like the Secret's Lovers
My eye is the pride of the tumult of discrimination


Your illumination is alike in the Ka'bah and the temple
I am entangled in the temple and the Haram's discrimination


Your black smoke contains the sigh's elegance
Is some heart hidden in the place of your manifestation?


You burn with pathos due to distance from Tajalli's Light
Your pathos the callous ones consider your light


Though you are burning you are unaware of it all
You see but do not encompass the internal pathos


I quiver like mercury with the excitement of vexation
As well I am aware of vexations of the restless heart


This was also the elegance of some Beloved
Which gave me perception of my own pathos


This cognition of mine keeps me restless
Innumerable fire temples are asleep in this spark


Discrimination between high and low is created by this alone!
Fragrance in flower, ecstasy in wine is created by this alone!


Garden, nightingale, flower, fragrance this Cognition is
Root of the struggle of ‘I and you' this Cognition is


At creation's dawn as Beauty became the abode of Love
The sound of "Kun" taught warmth to the spirit of Love


The command came Beauty of Kun's garden to witness
With one eye a thousand dreadful dreams to witness
Do not ask me of the nature of the veil of being
The eve of separation was the dawn of my being


Gone are the days when unaware of imprisonment I was
That my abode the adornment of the tree of Tur was
I am a prisoner but consider the cage to be a garden



This exile's hovel of sorrow I consider the homeland


Memories of the homeland a needless melancholy became
Now the desire for sight, now Longing for search became
O Candle! Look at the excessive illusion of thought
Look at the end of the one worshipped by celestial denizens


Theme of separation I am, the exalted one I am
Design of the Will of the Universe's Lord I am


He desired my display as He designed me
When at the head of Existence' Divan He wrote me


The pearl likes living in a handful of dust
Style may be dull the subject is excellent


Not seeing it rightly is the fault of shortsighted perception
The universe is the show of effulgence of taste for Cognizance


This network of time and space is the scaling ladder of the Universe
It is the necklace of the neck of Eternal BeautyI
have lost the way, Longing for the goal I am
O Candle! Captive of perception's illusion I am


I am the hunter as well as the circle of tyranny's net!
I am the Haram's roof as well as the bird on Haram's roofAm I the Beauty or head to
foot the melting love am I?
It is not clear whether the beloved or the Lover am I?


am afraid the old secret may come up to my lips again
Lest story of suffering on the Cross may come up again.

Pathos Of Love

O Pathos of Love! You are a glossy pearl
Beware, you should not appear among strangers


The theatre of your display is concealed under the veil
The modern audience' eye accepts only the visible display


New breeze has arrived in the Existence' garden
O Pathos of Love! Now there is no pleasure in display


Beware! You should not be striving for ostentation!
You should not be obligated to the nightingale's lament!


The tulip's wine-cup should be devoid of wine
The dew's tear should be a mere dropp of water


Your secret should be hidden in the bosom somewhere
Your heart-melting tear should not be your betrayer


The flowery-styled poet's tongue should not be talking
Separation's complaint should not be concealed in flute's music


This age is a critic, go and somewhere conceal yourself
In the heart in which you are residing conceal yourself


The learning's surprise is neglecting you, beware!
Your immature eye is not the seeker of Truth, beware


Let the elegant thought remain in search of Truth
Let your wisdom-loving eye remain in astonishment


This is not the garden whose spring you may be
This is not the audience worthy of your appearance


This audience is the lover of the material sights
The purpose of your sight is the closet of secrecy


Every heart is intoxicated with the wine of thinking
Something different is the Tur of the Kalims of this age

Mirza Ghalib

Through you the secret was revealed to the human intellect
That innumerable enigmas are solved by human intellect

You were the complete soul, literary assembly was your body
You adorned as well as remained veiled from the assembly

Your eye is longing to witness that veiled Beauty
Which is veiled in everything as the pathos of life

The assemblage of existence is rich with your harp
As mountain's silence by the brook's melodious harp

The garden of your imagination bestows glory on the universe
From the field of your thought worlds grow like meadows

Life is concealed in the humor of your verse
Picture's lips move with your command of language

Speech is very proud of the elegance of your miraculous lips
Thurayyah is astonished at your style's elegance

Beloved of literature itself loves your style
Delhi's bud is mocking at the rose of Shiraz

Ah! You are resting in the midst of Delhi's ruins
Your counterpart is resting in the Weimar's garden

Matching you in literary elegance is not possible
Till maturity of thought and imagination are combined

Ah! What has befallen the land of India!
Ah! The inspirer of the super-critical eye!

The lock of Urdu's hair still craves for combing
This candle still craves for moth's heart-felt pathos

O Jahanabad! O cradle of learning and art
Your entire super-structure is a silent lament

The sun and the moon are asleep in every speck of your dust
Though innumerable other gems are also hidden in your dust

Does another world-famous person like him also lie buried in you?
Does another gem like him also lie concealed in you?

Mirza Ghalib

Through you the secret was revealed to the human intellect
That innumerable enigmas are solved by human intellect

You were the complete soul, literary assembly was your body
You adorned as well as remained veiled from the assembly

Your eye is longing to witness that veiled Beauty
Which is veiled in everything as the pathos of life

The assemblage of existence is rich with your harp
As mountain's silence by the brook's melodious harp

The garden of your imagination bestows glory on the universe
From the field of your thought worlds grow like meadows

Life is concealed in the humor of your verse
Picture's lips move with your command of language

Speech is very proud of the elegance of your miraculous lips
Thurayyah is astonished at your style's elegance

Beloved of literature itself loves your style
Delhi's bud is mocking at the rose of Shiraz

Ah! You are resting in the midst of Delhi's ruins
Your counterpart is resting in the Weimar's garden

Matching you in literary elegance is not possible
Till maturity of thought and imagination are combined

Ah! What has befallen the land of India!
Ah! The inspirer of the super-critical eye!

The lock of Urdu's hair still craves for combing
This candle still craves for moth's heart-felt pathos

O Jahanabad! O cradle of learning and art
Your entire super-structure is a silent lament

The sun and the moon are asleep in every speck of your dust
Though innumerable other gems are also hidden in your dust

Does another world-famous person like him also lie buried in you?
Does another gem like him also lie concealed in you?

Mirza Ghalib

Through you the secret was revealed to the human intellect
That innumerable enigmas are solved by human intellect

You were the complete soul, literary assembly was your body
You adorned as well as remained veiled from the assembly

Your eye is longing to witness that veiled Beauty
Which is veiled in everything as the pathos of life

The assemblage of existence is rich with your harp
As mountain's silence by the brook's melodious harp

The garden of your imagination bestows glory on the universe
From the field of your thought worlds grow like meadows

Life is concealed in the humor of your verse
Picture's lips move with your command of language

Speech is very proud of the elegance of your miraculous lips
Thurayyah is astonished at your style's elegance

Beloved of literature itself loves your style
Delhi's bud is mocking at the rose of Shiraz

Ah! You are resting in the midst of Delhi's ruins
Your counterpart is resting in the Weimar's garden

Matching you in literary elegance is not possible
Till maturity of thought and imagination are combined

Ah! What has befallen the land of India!
Ah! The inspirer of the super-critical eye!

The lock of Urdu's hair still craves for combing
This candle still craves for moth's heart-felt pathos

O Jahanabad! O cradle of learning and art
Your entire super-structure is a silent lament

The sun and the moon are asleep in every speck of your dust
Though innumerable other gems are also hidden in your dust

Does another world-famous person like him also lie buried in you?
Does another gem like him also lie concealed in you?

Jawab-e-Shik


Whatever comes out of the heart is effective
It has no wings but has the power of flight

It has holy origins, it aims at elegance
It rises from dust, but has access to the celestial world

My love was seditious, rebellious and clever
My fearless wailing rent through the sky


On hearing it the sun said, 'Somewhere there is somebody! '
The planets said, 'At the 'Arsh-i-Bar

Jawab-e-Shik


Whatever comes out of the heart is effective
It has no wings but has the power of flight

It has holy origins, it aims at elegance
It rises from dust, but has access to the celestial world

My love was seditious, rebellious and clever
My fearless wailing rent through the sky


On hearing it the sun said, 'Somewhere there is somebody! '
The planets said, 'At the 'Arsh-i-Bar

First Date Tree Saeeded By Abdul Rahman The Firs

You are the apple of my eye,
My heart's delight:
I am remote from my valley,
To me you are the Burning Bush of Sinai!
You are a houri of the Arabian Desert,
Nursed by the Western breeze.
I feel homesick in exile,
You feel homesick in exile:


Prosper in this strange land!
May the morning dew quench your thirst!


The world presents a strange sight:
The vision's mantle is torn apart—
May valour struggle with the waves if it must,
The other side of the river is not to be seen!
Life owes itself to the heat of one's soul:
Flame does not rise from dust.
The Syrian evening's fallen star
Shined brighter in the exile's dawn.


There are no frontiers for the Man of Faith,
He is at home everywhere.


[Translated by the Editors]


*
That blood of pristine vigour is no more;
That yearning heart's power is no more;
Prayer, fasting, hajj, sacrifice survive,
But in thee nature's old dower is no more.


[Translated by Naim Siddiqui]


Not: These verses from Abdul Rahman the First
are quoted in Tarikh al Muqqari. The
following Urdu poem is a liberal
translation (the tree mentioned here was
planted in Madinatut Zahra)

A Mountain and A Squirrel

A mountain was saying this to a squirrel
'Commit suicide if you have self-respect


You are insignificant, still so arrogant, how strange!
You are neither wise, nor intelligent! not even shrewd!


It is strange when the insignificant pose as important!
When the stupid ones like you pose as intelligent!


You are no match in comparison with my splendor
Even the earth is low compared with my splendor


The grandeur of mine does not fall to your lot
The poor animal cannot equal the great mountain! '


On hearing this the squirrel said, 'Hold your tongue!
These are immature thoughts, expel them from your heart!


I do not care if I am not large like you!
You are not a pretty little thing like me


Everything shows the Omni-potence of God
Some large, some small, is the wisdom of God


He has created you large in the world
And He has taught me climbing large trees


You are unable to walk a single step
Only large size! What other greatness have you?


If you are large show me some of the skills I have
Show me how you break this beetle nut as I can


Nothing is useless in this world
Nothing is bad in God's creation