Poetry Friday: Star Tile

At the British Museum's web site, I found a photograph of an antique star tile that carries a poetic inscription around its edges. Written in an Arabic script, this is the verse (and I've taken the liberty of breaking the anonymous translator's lines):

Last night the moon came to your house,
filled with envy I thought of chasing him away.
Who is the moon to sit in the same place  as you?

The words are by an unidentified Persian poet. According to the British Museum, "Love poetry is sometimes found on tiles in medieval Iranian shrines. The love it refers to is often the divine love described in Sufi mystical poetry."

You can find more bloggers sharing poetry at A Wrung Sponge's Poetry Friday roundup.

Comments

[TadMack]

I recently really enjoyed the Sufi poetry in Anahita's Woven Riddle. That's a really beautiful history and I love to see it coming out more and more. Thanks for sharing!

[Susan]

TadMack, I wasn't familiar with that novel, so I looked it up on Amazon. Sounds very intriguing!

[Sorceress]

That's beautiful...a Persian way of expressing love. Even in Urdu and Hindi you see a lot of beauty being encapsulated in the moon and heavenly bodies.

Thanks for that!

[Liz in Ink]

Now I'm going to check out Anahita's Riddle, too. And this little verse is just lovely....

[Ms. Simbe]

I enjoyed a thorough introduction to Sufi mysticism and poetry on the national radio program Speaking of Faith, recently. I can't gen enough of the podcasts of Krista Tippet's amazing interviews.

[Susan]

Thanks for coming by, Sorceress. I once had a long conversation about Urdu poetry with a cab driver who'd grown up in Pakistan. I was very interested to hear a lot about it.

Hey, Liz! On my next trip to the library I'm going to check out Anahita's Riddle. Doesn't it sound good?

Ms. Simbe, I've heard of "Speaking of Faith," but not listened to it yet. Isn't it so great that one can listen to these shows on podcasts? Thank you for visiting, too!

[eisha]

That really is a lovely little verse. And a beautiful tile. Thanks for sharing!