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Is it the night of power by Bibi Hayati (19th Century) Timeline English version by Aliki Barnstone Original Language Persian/Farsi Muslim / Sufi 19th Century 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 /	Themes   Awakening   Bower   Dawn   Eternal Life   Fire Recommended Books The Shambhala Anthology of Women's Spiritual Poetry, Edited by Aliki Barnstone The Soul is Here for its Own Joy: Sacred Poems from Many Cultures, Edited by Robert Bly
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

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?

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.