1988 Volume 1. 'Sharda Pirani Ameena-Begum Ora-Ray Inayat Khan. "O Beloved..."

Poems from Thy Rosary of a Hundred Beads, a collection of poems written 'To Daya, Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan', by 'Sharda Pirani Ameena-Begum Ora-Ray Inayat Khan', after Murshid's death.

In India

Far across the seas to the land divine
Where mystery reigns supreme,
God carrieth there each thought of mine
And every wondrous dream.

Under warm sun, in a golden tomb,
Resteth Thy beautiful form,
Midst the fragrant roses that round Thee bloom,
Sheltered from wind and storm,

With unceasing peace for many an age,
O holy One, Thou art blest,
Numberless souls to pay Thee homage,
And kneel at Thy feet to rest.


When Thou Wert Near

What need had I for the light of the day
Or the moon in the night to lead the way,
O Beloved, when Thou wert near?

What need had I for the summer's warmth
Or the cooling breezes swaying forth,
O Beloved, when Thou wert near?

What need had I for a bright sunny morn
Or the shining stars, the dark sky adorn,
O Beloved, when Thou wert near?

What need had I for the showers of rain?
The fruits and the flowers Thou didst sustain,
O Beloved, when Thou wert near.


O Death

O Death, my comforter art Thou,
The healer of my wounds enow,
Thy yielding glance do I beseech
And for Thy soothing hand I reach.

1 yearn for Thee, years pass me by,
Thou contest not, but from my cry
I hear an echo o'er the hill, “A sacred duty first fulfill.”