Poems by Mirabai Mirabai

All Poems Original Poems Translations

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A great Yogi

In my travels I spent time with a great yogi.

Once he said to me.

“Become so still you hear the blood flowing

through your veins.”

One night as I sat in quiet,

I seemed on the verge of entering a world inside so vast

Mirabai Mirabai

Your Slander Is Sweet

Rana, to me your slander is sweet.

Some praise me, some blame me. I

go the other way.

On the narrow path, I found God’s

people. What should I turn back for?

I am learning wisdom among the

wise, and the wicked look at me

Mirabai Mirabai

The Arrow of His Glance

Friend, the arrow of his glance struck

my eyes;

Its point pierced my heart (and) his

sweet image entered my soul.

For a long time I have been staying

(here) watching the road, standing

at my house.

My life clings to (my) dark beloved,

Mirabai Mirabai

The Dark One Is Krishna

Thick overhead

clouds of the monsoon,

a delight to this feverish heart.

Season of rain,

season of uncontrolled whispers—-the Dark One's returning!

O swollen heart,

O sky brimming with moisture—-

tongued lightning first

Mirabai Mirabai

Listen

Listen, my friend, this road is the heart opening,

kissing his feet, resistance broken, tears all night.

If we could reach the Lord through immersion in water,

I would have asked to be born a fish in this life.

If we could reach Him through nothing but berries and wild nuts

then surely the saints would have been monkeys when they came from the womb!

If we could reach him by munching lettuce and dry leaves

then the goats would surely get to the Holy One before us!

Mirabai Mirabai

Come To My Pavilion

Come to my pavilion, O my King.

I have spread a bedmade of

delicately selected buds and blossoms,

And have arrayed myself in bridal garb

From head to toe.

I have been Thy slave during many births,

Thou art the be-all of my existence.

Mira's Lord is Hari, the Indestructible.

Mirabai Mirabai

Mira Danced with Ankle Bells

Mira danced with ankle-bells on her feet.

People said Mira was mad; my mother-in-law

said I ruined the family reputation.

Rana sent me a cup of poison and Mira

drank it laughing.

I dedicated my body and soul at the feet of Hari.

I am thirsty for the nectar of the sight of him.

Mira’s lord is Giridhar Nagar; I will

Mirabai Mirabai

The Dagger

The dagger of love has pierced my heart.

I was going to the river to fetch water,

A golden pitcher on my head.

Hariji has bound me

By the thin thread of love,

And wherever He draws me,

Thither I go.

Mira's Lord is the courtly Giridhara:

Mirabai Mirabai

A Cowherding girl

The plums tasted

sweet to the unlettered desert-tribe girl-

but what manners! To chew into each! She was ungainly,

low-caste, ill mannered and dirty,

but the god took the

fruit she'd been sucking.

Why? She'd knew how to love.

She might not distinquish

Mirabai Mirabai

Unbreakable

Unbreakable, O Lord,

Is the love

That binds me to You:

Like a diamond,

It breaks the hammer that strikes it.

My heart goes into You

As the polish goes into the gold.

As the lotus lives in its water,

Mirabai Mirabai

Keep Up Your Promise

Take my arm

and keep up your promise!

They call you the refugeless refuge,

they call you redeemer of outcasts.

Caught in a riptide

in the sea of becoming,

without your support I'm a shipwreck!

You reveal yourself age after age

Mirabai Mirabai

Sleep

Sleep has not visited me the whole night,

Will the dawn ever come?

O my companion,

Once I awoke with a start from a dream.

Now the remembrance from that vision

Never fades.

My life is ebbing as I choke and sigh,

When will the Lord of the Afflicted come

Mirabai Mirabai