Ode XVI

Show thy face, for I desire the orchard and the rose-garden;
Ope thy lips, for I desire sugar in plenty.
O sun, show forth thy face from the veil of cloud,
For I desire that radiant glowing countenance.
From love for thee I hearkened to the sound of the falcon-drum;
I have returned, for the sultan’s arm is my desire.
‘Vex me no more,’ thou saidst capriciously, ‘begone!’
I desire that saying of thine, ‘Vex me no more.’
And thy bidding off with ‘Depart, he is not at home.’
And the airs and pride and harshness of the door-keeper I desire.
O sweet zephyr, that blowest from the flower-plot of the Friend,
Blow on me, for I desire news of the basil.
The bread and water of destiny is like a treacherous flood;
I am a great fish and desire the sea of ‘Oman.
Like Jacob I am uttering cries of grief,
I desire the fair face of Joseph of Canaan.
By God, without thee the city is a prison to me,
O’er mountain and desert I desire to wander.
In 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.
My heart is weary of these weak-spirited companions;
I desire the Lion of God and Rustam, son of Zal.
Filings of beauty are in the possession of every one that exists;
I desire that quarry and that mine of exquisite loveliness.
Bankrupt tho’ I be, I will not accept a small carnelian;
The mine of rare tremulous carnelian is my desire.
Of this folk I am full of complaint, weeping and weary;
I desire the drunkards’ wailing and lamentation.
My soul is grown weary of Pharaoh and his tyranny;
I desire the light of the countenance of Moses, son of ’Imran.
They said, ‘He is not to be found, we have sought Him long.’
A thing which is not to be found— that is my desire.
I am more eloquent than the nightingale, but because of vulgar envy
A seal is on my tongue, tho’ I desire to moan.
Yesterday the Master with a lantern was roaming about the city,
Crying, ‘I am tired of devil and beast, I desire a man.’
My state has passed even beyond all yearning and desire;,
I desire to go from Being and Place toward the Essentials.
He is hidden from our eyes, and all objects are from Him;
I desire that hidden One whose works are manifest.
Mine ear listened to the tale of faith and was intoxicated;
Say, ‘The limbs and the body and the form of faith are my desire.’
I myself am Love’s rebeck, and Love is a rebeck to me;
I desire the hand and bosom and modulation of ‘Othman.
That rebeck is saying, ‘Every moment passionately
I desire the favours of the mercy of the Merciful.’
O cunning minstrel, con the rest of this ode
After this fashion, for after this fashion I desire.
Display, O Sun who art Tabriz’s glory, the dawning of Love;
I am the hoopoe: the presence of Solomon is my desire.