Hindustani Lyrics | Page 5

Thy joy arise,

From gate to inmost shrine
This palace of my soul is utterly Thine.
O longing seeking eyes,
He comes to you in many a varied guise,
If
Him you cannot find
The shame be yours, O eyes that are so blind.
I as His mirror glow
Bearing His image in my heart, and know
That
glowing clear in His
The image of my heart reflected is.
O drink the Wine of Love,
And in the Assembly of Enlightened move,

Let not the darkness dim
Fall like a curtain 'twixt thy soul and
Him.
Who gives away his soul
Forgets his petty self and wins the whole,

Losing himself outright
He finds himself in the Eternal Light.
Crazy art thou, Amir,
To wait before His gate in hope and fear;
For
never in thy pain
Shall He yield up thy ravished heart again.
AMIR.
VII.
How can I dare profess
I am the lover whom Thou dost prefer!

Thou art the essence of all loveliness,
And I Thy very humblest
worshipper.
Upon the Judgment Day
So sweet Thy mercy shall to sinners prove,

That envying them even the Saints shall say--
Would we were
sinners thus to know Thy love!

When in the quest for Thee
The heart shall seek among the pious
throng,
Thy voice shall call--If Thou desirest me
Among the sinners
I have dwelt for long.
At the great Reckoning
Mighty the wicked who before Thy throne

Shall come for judgment; little can I bring,
No store of good nor evil
deeds I own.
Among the thorns am I
A thorn, among the roses am a rose,
Friend
among friends in love and amity,
Foe among foes.
AMIR.
VIII.
I shall not try to flee the sword of Death,
Nor fearing it a watchful vigil keep,
It will be nothing but a sigh, a
breath,
A turning on the other side to sleep.
Through all the close entanglements of earth
My spirit shaking off its bonds shall fare
And pass, and rise in new
unfettered birth,
Escaping from this labyrinth of care.
Within the mortal caravan-serai
No rest and no abiding place I know,
I linger here for but a fleeting
day,
And at the morrow's summoning I go.

What are these bonds that try to shackle me?
Through all their intricate chains my way I find,
I travel like a
wandering melody
That floats untamed, untaken, on the wind.
From an unsympathetic world I flee
To you, your love and fellowship I crave,
O Singers dead, Sauda and
Mushafi,
I lay my song as tribute on your grave.
AMIR.
IX.
Of no use is my pain to her nor me:
For what disease is love the
remedy?
My heart that may not to her love attain
Is humble, and
would even crave disdain.
O traitrous heart that my destruction
sought
And me to ruin and disaster brought!
As, when the chain of
life is snapt in twain,
Never shall it be linked, so ne'er again
My
utterly broken heart shall be made whole.
I cannot tear the Loved One
from my soul,
Nor can I leave my heart that clings to her.
O Asif,
am I not Love's minister!
Who has such courage in Love's ways to
dare!
What heart like mine such bitterness can bear!
ASIF.
X.
The eyes of the narcissus win new light
From gleams that in Thy rapturous eyes they trace,
The flame is but a
moth with fluttering flight

Drawn by the lovelier lustre of Thy face.
This shifting House of Mirrors where we dwell
Under Thy charm a fairy palace seems:
Who hath not fallen tangled
in Thy spell
Beguiled by visions, wandering in dreams!
The hearts of all Thy captive lovers stray
Hither and thither driven by whims of Thine,
Sometimes within the
Kaaba courts to pray,
Sometimes to worship at the Idols' Shrine.
O Asif, thou hast known such grief and shame,
Shrinking beneath the cruel scourge of Love,
That all the earth will
hail thee with acclaim
As most courageous of the sons thereof.
ASIF.
XI.
When shall the mocking world withhold its blame,
When shall men cease to darken thus my name,
Calling the love which is my pride, my shame!
O Judge, let me my condemnation see;
Whose names are written on my death decree?--
The names of all who have been friends to me.

What hope to reach the Well-Beloved's door,
The dear lost dwelling that I knew of yore;
I stumbled once; I can return no more.
The joy of love no heart can feel alone,
The fire of love at first unseen, unknown,
In flames of love from either side is blown.
O Asif, tread thy pathway carefully
Across this difficult world; for, canst thou see,
A further journey is awaiting thee.
ASIF.
XII.
I ask that God in justice punish me
With death, if my love waver or
grow less;
Faithful am I indeed--
How can you comprehend such faithfulness?
To you alone I offer up my heart,
To any other what have I to give?
No light demand I make,
What answer will you grant that I may live?