From the Wisdom of Sufi Poets and my Poem Nili By Isis Andersen

Now is the traveler unaware of himself, and of aught besides himself. He seeth neither ignorance nor knowledge, neither doubt nor certitude; he knoweth not the morn of guidance from the night of error. He fleeth both from unbelief and faith, and deadly poison is a balm to him. Wherefore Attar [Faridu'd-Din Attar (ca. 1150-1230 A.D.), the great Persian Súfi poet.] saith:

For the infidel, error--for the faithful, faith;
For Attar's heart, an atom of Thy pain.

The steed of this Valley is pain; and if there be no pain this journey will never end."

and:

O My Brother! Until thou enter the Egypt of love, thou shalt never come to the Joseph of the Beauty of the Friend; and until, like Jacob, thou forsake thine outward eyes, thou shalt never open the eye of thine inward being; and until thou burn with the fire of love, thou shalt never commune with the Lover of Longing.

A lover feareth nothing and no harm can come nigh him: Thou seest him chill in the fire and dry in the sea.

A lover is he who is chill in hell fire;
A knower is he who is dry in the sea. [Persian mystic poem.]

and:

 O Brother! Not every sea hath pearls; not every branch will flower, nor will the nightingale sing thereon. Then, ere the nightingale of the mystic paradise repair to the garden of God, and the rays of the heavenly morning return to the Sun of Truth--make thou an effort...  (From the Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys)

For my long lost love Dov who has come again...

 Nili

(meaning of the Nile)

By Isis Andersen

Long ago I would sit under the stars of Egypt
and wonder where you were..
with each new day I would wait
to see if you would come
looking to find a trace of you
not one foot print would appear

frankincense and myrrh
the soft scent of Isis hanging in the air
a breeze blowing off the Nile
shifting sands of time eternal
moving across the desert floor
in that timeless place I would wait

O face of love forever
infinite beauty unforgotten
how you touch my heart in dreams
your fire in my soul.

April 22, 2008