Wednesday, August 29, 2007
St. John of the Cross
from "The Dark Night" by St. John of the Cross
On a darkened night,
Anxious, by love inflamed,
-- O happy chance! --
Unnoticed, I took flight,
My house at last at peace and quiet.
Safe, disguised by the night,
By the secret ladder I took flight,
-- O happy chance! --
Cloaked by darkness, I scaled the height,
My house at last at peace and quiet.
On that blessed night,
In secret, and seen by none,
None in sight,
I saw with no other guide or light,
But the one burning in my heart bright.
This guide, this light,
Brighter than the midday sun,
Led me to the waiting One
I knew so well -- my delight!
To a place with none in sight.
O night! O guide!
O night more loving than the dawn!
O night that joined
The lover with the Beloved;
Transformed, the lover into the Beloved drawn!
Upon my flowered breast,
For him alone kept fair,
There he slept
There I caressed,
There the cedars gave us air.
I drank the turret's cool air
Spreading playfully his hair.
And his hand, so serene,
Cut my throat.
Drained of senses, I dropped unaware.
Lost to myself and yet remaining,
Inclined so only the Beloved I spy.
All has ceased, all rests,
Even my cares, even I:
Lost among the lilies, there I die.
(translated by Ivan Granger)
Many think that St. John of the Cross is describing a sense of ecstatic union stemming from awakened kundalini energies. Like many other saints (and less exalted folk), he experienced deep rapture when he met his "Beloved" alone in the solitary meeting place of the mind. The tryst takes place under cover of darkness, for secret lovers always meet in places concealed from the common eye.
Some interpret the line "he slit my throat" as describing annihilation of the senses as he is united with his divine paramour. Others suggest it is merely a tiny love stroke, a token of the beloved's affection and intimacy.
