Humility - Marguerite Porete

This Humility, who is aunt and mother,
is daughter of Divine majesty and so is born from Divinity.
Deity is her mother and grandmother of her branches,
by whom the buds make such great fruitfulness.
We are silent about them, for speaking ruins them.
This one, that is, Humility,
has given the stem and the fruit from the buds,
because she is there, close
to the peace of this Fairness
who unencumbers her from works,
and turns away the speaking,
makes dark there the pondering.
This Fairness unencumbers,
no one encumbers her with anything.
This one is freed from all service,
for she lives by freeness.
Whoever serves, he is not free,
whoever senses, he has not died,
whoever desires, he wills,
whoever wills, he begs,
whoever begs, he has a lack of divine sufficiency.

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Marguerite Porete (c.1260 - 1310) France
Translated by Ellen L. Babinsky
Source: Poetry Chaikhana