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THE SECOND SECLUSION

The fruit of the second seclusion

780. Life spent on that carpet, woven in eternity, is spent profitably

781. The ear congratulates it on that work, and the eyes read in it songs of adoration.

782. The laughter of its beauties saddens sweetness; sight takes collyrium from the eyes of the fair gazelles.

783. There my beloved, like the moon, dressed in Muslin, has broken my heart like a reed.

784. The moon which had cast away the night, had on that night remained until daybreak.

785. When the arrows of her airs and graces flew swiftly, the soul came forward as her target, kissing the ground.

786. Her light filled the eyes of the candle with tears; jealousy of her beauty ulcerated the eye of the lamp.

(67) 787. The heart accepted in good faith every oppression of her tyranny as a sign of blessing.

788. At, times, she was the verdure and I the stream of water; and at times. I was the bleacher and she the sun.

789. I have no knowledge of that fruit of which I partook on that night.

790. How could I have known that the Dew moon, whose girdle is light, would keep away from her lovers?

79L. She was in love with her own lover; her desire was a hundred times greater than mine.

792. The heart in its desire says: "What harm could have come to our day, had it not burnt the veil of our night.

793. "And had it made the night safe, that it might have endured to the day of resurrection?"

794. I search everywhere for the light of that night which was like the sun, and do not find it even in my dreams.

795. I have had happiness only on that night; I have had no happy night since it bade me farewell.

796. Since then I call upon God every night, praying That He may grant me that same vision.

797. That was a clear day, not a dark night. It was night, but the night of the Ascent to Heaven.

798. The moon, digging out rubies from the mine of heaven, dies every night of desire for that night.

799. The day, which is the sworn enemy of the night, yearns also for that same night.

(68) 800. I was carefree, when suddenly the sun, brandishing its sword, came in down the path of the dawn.

801. The fire of the sun caused water to flow from my eyes on to my body.

802. The clouds came to the garden playfully, cleansing the garments of the sun.

803. At this well-spring of the dawn, many vessels such as thou and I have been broken.

804. Heaven had gilt the pure silver of its stars with the golden leaves of the sun.

805. The sleeping Dawn awoke swiftly with a dagger in her hand, prepared to shed blood.

806. I threw down my shield on her battle-field and made my soul my shield against her dagger.

807. To kill me, Dawn sprang from the stream, killing the thirsty one and destroying the bridge.

808. A voice cried from my desolation, saying: "Oh Dawn, is this my punishment?

809. "Formerly, when I had a companion, I had many candles to lighten my darkness.

810. "What did I gain from that night and that candle which departed from me? They vanished as though they had never been there.

811. "Sting him who ate thy honey; destroy him who humbled thee.

(69) 812. "Destroy the strong, because that is permissible; to destroy the weak is easy."

813. When the Dawn saw my weeping, she shed tears of blood on the morn in sympathy.

814. The harvest of the day was burnt by my sorrow. The source of the sun was saddened by my sighing.

815. In spite of all my suffering, heaven gave me hope. The snake of the night gave me the bead of the sun.

816. I know not how I felt the effect of the light of the dawn, though I knew it.

817. He who found the road to this moving cradle, found more than the light of the dawn.

818. Oh thou, whose days of pleasure have shamefully blackened the face of thy nights,

819. I who have described this night, have described it from personal experience.

820. The night is the curtain of solitude; the candle is the jewel of vision.

821. The aloe-wood and the rose-water are the groans and the tears of the weary.

822. All the beauty of that seat of honour was the light of the Night of Power.

823. Who under this heaven is trusted with the secrets veiled by the curtain of solitude?

824. The dawn which has learnt to be like a moth, has never seen a more beautiful candle.

825. Strive to be burnt by that candle, so that, like Nezami, thou mayest reach the light.