Bayazeed Bastami, Eleventh century mystic Translated by Leila Farjami Never have I beheld a lamp Brighter than serenity, Or heard a speech Better than speechlessness. I meditated in the house of silence, And put on the robe of patience. I became a bird, His eye of "unity", His feather of "eternity". I was flying in the air of formlessness. I drank of a bowl, Whose water Will never quench my thirst. (end)