The gates of his heart were flung open, and his joy flew far over the sea.And he closed his eyes and prayed in the silence of his soul.

As he descended the hill, a sadness came upon him, and he thought in his heart:

How shall i go in peace and without sorrow?Nay, not without a wound in the spirit shall i leave this city.

Long were the days of pain i have spent within its walls, and long were the nights of aloneness;and who can depart from his pain and his aloneness without regret?

If in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure

It is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor

Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh,but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed

For love is sufficient unto love

Love has no other desire but tofulfil itself

If you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night

To know the pain of too much tenderness

To be wounded by yout own understanding of love

And to bleed willingly and joyfully

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy

To return home at eventide with gratitude

And then sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips

Love one another, but make not a bond of love

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping

For only the hand of life can contain your hearts

And stand together yet not too near together

For the pilliars of the temple stand apart

And oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow

Patient, over patient, is the captain of my ship

The wind blows, and restless are the sails

Even the rudder begs direction

Yet quietly my captain awaits my silence

And these my mariners, who have heard the choir of the greater sea, they too have heard me patiently

Now they shall wait no longer

I am ready

When you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing

When you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb

When the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance