
The Prophet Ilyas Rescues a Prince, from the Hamzanama, India, 1567-1572. Source: britishmuseum.org
Then the secret was there in my heart
and I was gone and my star set away
my heart by my lord’s secret changed and I
absented from the body’s feeling frame
wherefrom therewith I came
upon a ship of my high resolution
disposed therein my fortress thoughts
through a dark gulf of what I knew
unthought
.
and on my ship my longing blew
as winds, and so it passed
an arrow’s passage through the sea
and across that sea Approach I cut
till I perceived unsecret what
was without name. You!
.
I said, by my heart seen!
I loose an arrow at your love
for you are dear to me
and you are my festivity
the end of all my passion and my prize.
.
Ibn Arabi’s original poem can be found here.