If They Only Knew
By Mansur al- Hallaj
(9th Century)
English version by Michael A. Sells

What earth is this
          so in want of you
they rise up on high
          to seek you in heaven?

                    Look at them staring
                              at you
                    right before their eyes,
                              unseeing, unseeing, blind.
. . .

                    I was patient,
                              but can the heart
be patient of
          its heart?

                              My spirit and yours
                    blend together
                              whether we are near one another
                    or far away.

                    I am you,
you,
          my being,
                    end of my desire,

          The most intimate of secret thoughts
                    enveloped
and fixed along the horizon
          in folds of light.

                              How? The "how" is known
                    along the outside,
                              while the interior of beyond
          to and for the heart of being.

          Creatures perish
                    in the darkened
blind of quest,
          knowing intimations.

                                        Guessing and dreaming
                    they pursue the real,
                              faces turned toward the sky
          whispering secrets to the heavens.

                    While the lord remains among them
                              in every turn of time
abiding in their every condition
          every instant.

                              Never without him, they,
                    not for the blink of an eye --
                              if only they knew!
                    nor he for a moment without