The Mendicants of Paradise
Ken Richard © 2021
Influence: Ode 14 , from Hafiz, in  “Odes from the Divan of Hafiz, 1905” translated by Richard Le Gallienne

How can you conceal your face. 
Hiding for each lost and listening day,
O moon that blesses only some other place
While hiding from your watchers, in the firmament.
For these unfed and hungry eyes
Won ‘t you Shine a silvery light  
Take pity on our case
We are lovers; 
we are the mendicants of Paradise.

We are torn with love from midnight to morning
We are burning so deeply with a fire of longing
Standing in the sand with our eyes to the sky
We are wholly consumed with love’s sacred fire. 

How can you conceal your face. 
Hiding for each lost and listening day,
O moon that blesses only some other place
While hiding from your watchers, in the firmament.
For these unfed and hungry eyes
Won ‘t you Shine a silvery light  
Take pity on our case
We are lovers; 
we are the mendicants of Paradise.

Scatter the clouds of your absence 
from these loving and faithful hearts.
We have waited through the day for this moment
while the dew carried your scent from the rosebud’s bosom.

Verse 1.

Mendicants Of Paradise

Ken Richard