Love

O Lovely One, when to the ravished sight

by Wali Deccani 1667–1707

Translated by Inayat Khan and Jessie Duncan Westbrook (1919) · From Hindustani Lyrics (1919)

Love

O Lovely One, when to the ravished sight
Thou wilt unveil that radiant face of thine,
Each atom of the worlds, catching thy light,
Reflecting thee, bright as a sun shall shine.

Walk not, my flower, within the garden close,
Lest thou should give the bulbul new distress;
For at thy glance each blossom turns a rose
To lure him with her cruel loveliness.

Victorious One, thou hast unsheathed thy sword,
The scimitar of thy beauty gleams again,
So over all thy lovers thou art Lord,
Holding dominion in the hearts of men.

Art thou serene and calm and unafraid
When thou considerest thy tyranny?
Think of the reckoning that shall be made
Between thy heart and mine at Judgment Day.

MLA

Deccani, Wali. “O Lovely One, when to the ravished sight.” Translated by Inayat Khan and Jessie Duncan Westbrook. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wali-deccani/0/.

Chicago

Deccani, Wali. “O Lovely One, when to the ravished sight.” Translated by Inayat Khan and Jessie Duncan Westbrook. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wali-deccani/0/.

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