A Nocturn Poem by Ameen Rihani

Upon the face of darkness beams my soul —
Nearby, behind the curtains of my sight ;
And 'round it weary waves of wonder roll —
Sad seas of color o'er dead seas of light :
Here is no Space, no Time — nor day nor
night —
Here is the boundless, undiminished Whole —
Here is my soul.
Here is no love that hides beneath its shoal
The sandix that can redden a sea of years ;
Here is no lust that lies to Beauty's mole
And draws from eyes of flint a flood of tears ;
Here is no disenchantment and no fears —
No blasted hopes, no jaunty joy. no dole —
Here is my soul.
Now lost in clay and water ; now the Whole
Is lost within me : sea and earth and sky
I dismiss from my presence, as I roll
My lids and lo, the lord of night am I.
Into the airless wilderness I fly ;
Here is no vain desire, no galling goal —
Here is my soul.
In Eternity, shod with the hoary noul
Of deathless Death — in dim and shimmering
shades
Of soilless vales that bosom and cajole
The crystal flowers dropping from cloud-cas-
cades ;
Here in the grove of myriad colonnades
Of jet and pearl and amber I now stroll —
Here is my soul.