Egypt: The Sun at Midnight

Egypt Cairo Mohamed Ali Mosque, originally uploaded by davidcharding.

' See, I tried everything, went everywhere,
But never found a friend as dear as you;
I drank from all the fountains, tried the grapes,
But never tasted wine as sweet as you.'

I studied hundred learned manuscripts:
In every letter I saw only you.
I washed away the letters with my tears:
A mirror was the shining page for you.

I heard your voice in every rustling breeze;
The snow, the grass were lovely veils for you;
I dived into the ocean without shore:
The lustrous pearls reflected only you.

Then came the storm.
The garden of my heart
was shiv'ring in the cold, all leaves were shed.
There was the desert.
And the barren cloud.
And silence. And
the sun at midnight - you.

Annemarie Schimmel