[Poetry Chaikhana] Bibi Hayati - Is it the night of power

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Is it the night of power By Bibi Hayati (19th Century) English version by Aliki Barnstone   Is it the night of power Or only your hair? Is it dawn Or your face? In the songbook of beauty Is it a deathless first line Or only a fragment copied from your inky eyebrow? Is it boxwood of the orchard Or cypress of the rose garden? The tuba tree of paradise, abundant with dates, Or your standing beautifully straight? Is it musk of a Chinese deer Or scent of delicate rosewater? The rose breathing in the wind Or your perfume? Is it scorching lightning Or light from fire on Sana'i Mountain? My hot sigh Or your inner radiance? Is it Mongolian musk Or pure ambergris? Is it your hyacinth curls Or your braids? Is it a glass of red wine at dawn Or white magic? Your drunken narcissus eye Or your spell? Is it the Garden of Eden Or heaven on earth? A mosque of the masters of the heart Or a back alley? Everyone faces a mosque of adobe and mud When they pray. The mosque of Hayati's soul Turns to your face.   -- from The Shambhala Anthology of Women's Spiritual Poetry, Edited by Aliki Barnstone Amazon.com / Photo by Jane Rahman /

============ Thought for the Day: You can't think your way to heaven. ============

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Hi Omss -

Bibi Hayati Kermani was born into a Sufi family in the early 1800's in the Kerman province of Persia (Iran). She was raised by her brother, who guided her in the early stages of her spiritual life.

When she was older Bibi Hayati was formally initiated into the Ni'matullahi Sufi order by the Sufi master Nur 'Ali Shah, whom she later married. They had one child together.

At the request of her husband, Bibi Hayati published her poetry, and during her lifetime she became well-known for her passionate mystical poems.

She was also known for her practice of cooking for and feeding the people of her community.

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There are several important themes and images in this poem, but for now let's bask in the poem's rich aromas. Take a slow, deep breath...

In addition to a nectar-like sweetness, many mystics experience a scent that can be rapturously overwhelming or tantalizingly subtle. The aroma is the intoxicating scent of what I sometimes call the Celestial Drink, variously called wine, amrita, rasa, dew, honey. But this blissful scent can also be understood as the perfume worn by the Beloved that awakens sacred ardor upon the spiritual journey.

And, of course, perfume is scented oil, oil being the substance used to anoint and initiate.

Is it musk of a Chinese deer
Or scent of delicate rosewater?
The rose breathing in the wind
Or your perfume?

To suggest the almost erotic sense of divine union, sometimes the earthier scent of musk is described. Musk is the aphrodisiac oil of the musk deer. Deer, being creatures of profound silence and shyness, are themselves symbols of the elusive Beloved.

In Bibi Hayati's poem here, she carries the language of sacred aroma over to the scent of flowers, as well. Blossoms and flowers are natural symbols for enlightenment, the unfolding of awareness and the opening of the heart. Let us not forget, though, that flowers have a direct connection to the Celestial Drink, for their sweet perfume emanates from the sweet nectar they hold.

And, of course, the flower precedes the fruit, whose juice ultimately yields wine...

Is it a glass of red wine at dawn
Or white magic?

But the closing lines get to the heart of everything:

Everyone faces a mosque of adobe and mud
When they pray.
The mosque of Hayati's soul
Turns to your face.

Every sacred ritual is always an outer enactment of what we must realize within. What good does it do when we face a mosque or altar or the rising sun, but our souls are turned away from the all-enchanting beauty of the Beloved?

Have a beautiful -- perfumed -- day!

Ivan

 

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New on the Poetry Chaikhana Blog In addition to the daily poem, other recent blog posts include: Behind the Scenes with Ivan - Comments (15) Do you wonder what my work with the Poetry Chaikhana looks like? -- The Politics of Poetry -- Your Support as a Community More Music & Video: Arieb Azhar / Bullah Shah - What's on the Tongue Must be Said - Comments (3) The poetry of Bullah Shah set to a sweet, sleepy groove. Na Raindee Hai More Book: Islamic Mystical Poetry - Comments (6) Other general collections of Sufi poetry, like The Drunken Universe and Love's Alchemy might have more arresting translations, but Penguin's Islamic Mystical Poetry is highly recommended for its broad range of Sufi poets, some hard to find in English translation, as well as for it's approachable translations. More

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