Soul's Desire, by Rabia Clark (1988)

[lb_lee]

This is a poem from the winter 1988 women's spirituality issue of Rainbow Bridge Magazine, a quarterly publication of Ziraat, a branch of the Sufi order, published at this time in San Antonio, Texas. It doesn't seem to be in screen-readable or digital form anywhere, so I transcribed it.


Soul's Desire
By Rabia Clark

No earthly love have I,
No caresses or welcoming arms.
"Aren't you lonely?" friends ask,
Seeing my solitude.

How does one speak of
The caresses of the Beloved?
The ecstasy of his breath
Merged with mine,
His touch pulsing in my spine,
His fire consuming my heart,
His song ever moving
In my mind.

No distance separates us,
Time and space stand still,
My yearning is our yearning,
Where went "I"?

Amid the flames I stand,
Clothed in golden fire.
Void and dark my center,
Pulsing, glowing outside.

No edges nor shape have I,
An endlessly burning, giving light.
Peace in the darkness,
Ecstasy of radiation,
Fulfillmment of my soul's desire.