Unfurled? And what decree
in
silence made
Commands the milky swirls and twirling dark
To cradle my confusion with soft hands
Until the piercing arrow in me vibrates
Like a word? Oh God! My eyes awaken
To ungoverned chaos which Thy hand
No longer hides beneath its patient shade.
While wails exacerbate beneath Thy gaze
Which, veiled, scarce hides Thy endless unconcern,
Beyond, I glimpse the monstrous strife of waves
And winds as they unroll. I feel my being
Taper, youthful reason melt like wax
Before its light. My gaze which spirals spray
Suspended, separates myself from it.
Fear entrenches me within myself
Against life's waves where many eager passions,
Ill-contained, exclaim in secrecy.
I lie upon the beach, undone, abandoned
By the ebbing tide, a seashell closed
Upon its useless jewel.
My lashes, near the pool which is my eye,
Are fragile reveries of reeds aligned,
Whose fine reflection filters my surprise.
This world so new is empty to the edge
And gapes at Thy immense Hegira.
Am
I
Born to see Thy absence, not to live?
Shall I be ever torn by this regret
Of having come from thee one day, a lifeless
Fish, whose yawning mouth and rounded eyes
Drift over seas beneath the sky?
Float, flag of mists. Roll, air insensitive.
Skies, skim this earth extended like the Book
In
anarchy, where, as I scan, I see
But snatches of illuminations. Pages,
