Günther Uecker

Werk 36

Pleasant is khalvat if the beloved is my beloved.
Not if he is the candle of assembly and I consume alone.
I will pay nothing for that Solomon’s signet
Which is sometimes touched by Satan’s hand.
O God, do not allow that in the sacred enclosure of union,
Intimacy to be my rival‘s lot and privation mine.
Tell the homa: «Never cast the shadow of honor
On that land where a parrot is less than a crow.”
What need is there to express yearning? For the quality of
The heart›s fire can be known from the blaze of words.
Desire for your street does not go out of my mind.
Yes, a foreigner’s bewildered heart is always in his homeland.
If like the lily, Hafes possesses ten tongues,
His mouth will still be sealed, like the rose-bud, before you.

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Translation