Andrew Wyeth/Master Bedroom
Part One - The Calling
- Let me sleep, for my soul is intoxicated with love and
- Let me rest, for my spirit has had its bounty of days and nights;
- Light the candles and burn the incense around my bed, and
- Scatter leaves of jasmine and roses over my body;
- Embalm my hair with frankincense and sprinkle my feet with perfume,
- And read what the hand of Death has written on my forehead.
- Let me rest in the arms of Slumber, for my open eyes are tired;
- Let the silver-stringed lyre quiver and soothe my spirit;
- Weave from the harp and lute a veil around my withering heart.
- Sing of the past as you behold the dawn of hope in my eyes, for
- It's magic meaning is a soft bed upon which my heart rests.
- Dry your tears, my friends, and raise your heads as the flowers
- Raise their crowns to greet the dawn.
- Look at the bride of Death standing like a column of light
- Between my bed and the infinite;
- Hold your breath and listen with me to the beckoning rustle of
- Her white wings.
- Come close and bid me farewell; touch my eyes with smiling lips.
- Let the children grasp my hands with soft and rosy fingers;
- Let the ages place their veined hands upon my head and bless me;
- Let the virgins come close and see the shadow of God in my eyes,
- And hear the echo of His will racing with my breath.
Part Two - The Ascending
- I have passed a mountain peak and my soul is soaring in the
- Firmament of complete and unbound freedom;
- I am far, far away, my companions, and the clouds are
- Hiding the hills from my eyes.
- The valleys are becoming flooded with an ocean of silence, and the
- Hands of oblivion are engulfing the roads and the houses;
- The prairies and fields are disappearing behind a white specter
- That looks like the spring cloud, yellow as the candlelight
- And red as the twilight.
- The songs of the waves and the hymns of the streams
- Are scattered, and the voices of the throngs reduced to silence;
- And I can hear naught but the music of Eternity
- In exact harmony with the spirit's desires.
- I am cloaked in full whiteness;
- I am in comfort; I am in peace.
Part Three - The Remains
- Unwrap me from this white linen shroud and clothe me
- With leaves of jasmine and lilies;
- Take my body from the ivory casket and let it rest
- Upon pillows of orange blossoms.
- Lament me not, but sing songs of youth and joy;
- Shed not tears upon me, but sing of harvest and the winepress;
- Utter no sigh of agony, but draw upon my face with your
- Finger the symbol of Love and Joy.
- Disturb not the air's tranquility with chanting and requiems,
- But let your hearts sing with me the song of Eternal Life;
- Mourn me not with apparel of black,
- But dress in color and rejoice with me;
- Talk not of my departure with sighs in your hearts; close
- Your eyes and you will see me with you forevermore.
- Place me upon clusters of leaves and
- Carry my upon your friendly shoulders and
- Walk slowly to the deserted forest.
- Take me not to the crowded burying ground lest my slumber
- Be disrupted by the rattling of bones and skulls.
- Carry me to the cypress woods and dig my grave where violets
- And poppies grow not in the other's shadow;
- Let my grave be deep so that the flood will not
- Carry my bones to the open valley;
- Let my grace be wide, so that the twilight shadows
- Will come and sit by me.
- Take from me all earthly raiment and place me deep in my
- Mother Earth; and place me with care upon my mother's breast.
- Cover me with soft earth, and let each handful be mixed
- With seeds of jasmine, lilies and myrtle; and when they
- Grow above me, and thrive on my body's element they will
- Breathe the fragrance of my heart into space;
- And reveal even to the sun the secret of my peace;
- And sail with the breeze and comfort the wayfarer.
- Leave me then, friends—leave me and depart on mute feet,
- As the silence walks in the deserted valley;
- Leave me to God and disperse yourselves slowly, as the almond
- And apple blossoms disperse under the vibration of Nisan's breeze.
- Go back to the joy of your dwellings and you will find there
- That which Death cannot remove from you and me.
- Leave with place, for what you see here is far away in meaning
- From the earthly world. Leave me.
Khalil Gibran
