Bibi Hayati - How can I see the splendor of the moon

October 6, 2009

From Ivan.

Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --

How can I see the splendor of the moon

By Bibi Hayati

(19th Century)

English version by Aliki Barnstone

How can I see the splendor of the moon

If his face shines over my heart,

Flaming like the sun?

The Turks in his eyes charge through my soul,

While untrue curling hair

Defeats faith.

Yet if he lifted the veil from his face,

The world would be undone,

The universe astounded.

He walks through the garden

With grace, erect,

His exquisite posture mocking even the straight cypresses.

He charges, riding his gnostic horse

Into the holy space of divinity,

The sacred sphere.

Tonight the Saki with its red-stained ruby lips

Pours wine for the luxury of every drunk,

And sates every reveler's taste.

As Hayati has drunk his ecstasy,

Her soul now satisfied by the wine of his pure heart,

How can she drink any other nectar?

-- from The Shambhala Anthology of Women's Spiritual Poetry, Edited by Aliki Barnstone Amazon.com

/ Photo by jenny downing /

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Thought for the Day:

Peace and joy -- that's what everyone wants.

It's fear that twists this natural yearning

into the compulsion

for security and comfort.

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Ethos Percussion Group

Sol Tunnels

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Hi Alan -

Bibi Hayati was born into a Sufi family in the early 1800's in Persia (Iran). She was raised by her brother, who guided her in the early stages of her spiritual life. She was later formally initiated into the Sufi path, studying the great Sufi saints and philosophers of the past, including Rumi and al-Arabi.

Hayati married the Sufi master Nur 'ali Shah and, at his request, she composed her divan (collection) of poetry.

---

Have you stepped outside in the last few evenings to notice the full moon? Because she changes, the moon draws our attention. But how difficult is it to pause and truly recognize the radiant beauty of the steady sun? Our certainty of the sun, the all-permeating nature of its light too often means we don't see it at all...

In this poem, the "splendor of the moon" can be understood to represent creation. The moon, in its waxing and waning cycles, its changeability, expresses the most glorious or most brilliant aspects of the manifest world. And, in its femininity, the moon also represents the poet herself, her soul.

Unlike the fluctuating light of the moon, the sun's light is steady, constant, overpowering of all other light; in fact, it is the source of all other light, including the moon's. The masculine sun represents the Beloved to the feminine soul. In this poem, the sun is God.

When the sun of God's face shines over her heart, all of creation and all of herself is consumed in its flaming light. She sees nothing but the light of God, feeling that presence upon her heart.

And, as with so many sacred poems, especially within the Sufi tradition, wine here is the mystical drink. Bibi Hayati refers to the wine as having come from "his" (the Beloved's, God's) pure heart.

It is the true nectar. It flows in abundance. What else can satisfy?

Have a beautiful day!

Ivan

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Ivan

M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are

2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.

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