I am still looking at the book of poetry and here is one from an old friend, Symeon the New Theologian. He lived from 949-1032 in Turkey. His family wanted him to be an imperial senator and so he did, but had mystical experiences (beginning at least by the time he was 20 but finally making him renounce his public office and go off to become a monk. Later, he became a priest; later still he was exiled to a small hermitage . Disciples flocked to him so soon there was a monastery and Symeon wrote his "Hymns of Divine Love" which is really a collection of poems trying to describe his mystical experiences. Here is one translated by Ivan Granger in "Real Thirst":
How is it I can love You
within me,
yet see You from afar?
How is it I embrace You
within myself,
yet see you spread across the heavens?
You know, You alone,
You, who made this mystery,
You who shine
like the sun in my breast,
You who shine
in my material heart,
immaterially.
No comments:
Post a Comment