A Collection of Poems: And YHVH spoke to me when I saw His name

And YHVH spoke to me when I saw His name

spelled out and merged with the blood in my heart,

separating blood from ink and ink from blood:

and YHVH said to me: Behold,

blood is the name of your soul, and ink the name of your spirit:

your father and mother are vessels for my name and a sign.

And then I fathomed the tremendous difference between

my spirit and soul, and a great joy came through me.

For I knew my soul was dwelling in the redness as blood,

and my spirit was dwelling in the blackness as ink.

And there raged a war in my heart between

the blood and the ink: the blood from the wind

and the ink from dust, and the black ink

over the blood was victorious —

as the Sabbath subdues all days of the week.

And so my heart rested within me — and I offer

praise to the Lord, to the Name in my heart forever.

Rabbi Abraham Abulafia [Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia] (1240 - c.1295) Spain

Translated by Peter Cole

A Collection of Poems