The Prophet

Longing for spiritual springs,

I dragged myself through desert sands…An angel with three pairs of

Arrived to me at cross of lands;

With fingers so light and

He touched my eyes as in a dream:

And opened my prophetic eyes Like eyes of eagle in surprise.

He touched my ears in movement, single,

And they were filled with noise and jingle:

I heard a shuddering of heavens,

And angels' flight on azure

And  creatures' crawl in long sea nights,

And rustle of vines in distant valleys.

And he bent down to my chin,

And he tore off my tongue of sin,

In cheat and idle talks aroused,

And with his hand in bloody

He put the sting of wizard snakes  Into my deadly stoned mouth.

With his sharp sword he cleaved my breast,

And plucked my quivering heart out,

And coals flamed with God's behest,

Into my gaping breast were ground.

Like dead I lay on desert sands,

And listened to the God's commands:'Arise,

O prophet, hark and see,

Be filled with utter My demands,

And, going over Land and Sea,

Burn with your Word the humane hearts.'Another translation:

With fainting soul athirst for Grace,

I wandered in a desert place,

And at the crossing of the waysI saw a sixfold Seraph blaze;

He touched mine eyes with fingers

As sleep that cometh in the night:

And like a frightened eagle's eyes,

They opened wide with prophecies.

He touched mine ears, and they were

With tumult and a roaring sound:

I heard convulsion in the sky,

And flight of angel hosts on high,

And beasts that move beneath the sea,

And the sap creeping in the tree.

And bending to my mouth he

From out of it my sinful tongue,

And all its lies and idle rust,

And 'twixt my lips a-perishingA subtle serpent's forkèd

With right hand wet with blood he thrust.

And with his sword my breast he cleft,

My quaking heart thereout he reft,

And in the yawning of my breastA coal of living fire he pressed.

Then in the desert I lay dead,

And God called unto me and said:"Arise, and let My voice be heard,

Charged with My will go forth and

The land and sea, and let My

Lay waste with fire the heart of man."