A Thousand Forms (1815)

 

 

Take on a thousand forms, hide as you will,

O Most-Beloved, at once I know tis you;

Conceal yourself in magic veils, and still,

Presence-in-All, at once I know tis you.

 

The cypress thrusting artless up and young,

Beauty-in-Every-Limb, I know tis you;

The channelled crystal wave life flows along,

All-Gentling-Tender-One, I know tis you.

 

You in the fountain plume's unfolding tip,

All-Playful-One, what joy to know tis you;

Where cloud assumes a shape and changes it,

One-Manifold-in-All, I know tis you.

 

I know, when flowers veil the meadow ground,

O Starry-Twinkle-Hued, in beauty you;

When thousand-armed the ivy gropes around,

Environer-of-All, I know tis you.

 

When on a mountain sparks of dawn appear,

At once, Great Gladdener, I welcome you;

Then with a sky above rotund and clear,

Then, Opener-of-the-Heart, do I breathe you.

 

What with bodily sense and soul I know,

Teacher-of-All, I know alone through you;

All hundred names on Allah I bestow,

With each will echo then a name for you.

 

 

Translated by Christopher Middleton