Prayer
O river of beauty and radiance! Grant me a scintilla of light;
Grant me eyes full of laughter and lips full of delight.
For this minor heart of mine, I seek a beloved’s souvenir;
O river of beauty and radiance! Grant me a scintilla of light.
For this pitch-dark sorrow’s manor, a glowing grain to quell the night;
Grant me eyes full of laughter and lips full of delight.
For this rapture and its yearning, grant me a dear beloved’s sight,
Indulge me with your greater love; grant me your gracious face’s pride.
For this being’s withered garden, I seek a covenant of spring,
I don’t ask you to grant me heaven; I’m not seeking Sinai’s height.
Let this dream’s very breath and time point to its own interpretation,
Grant me the bosom of a fakir, and a heart with a shah’s elation.