i carry a torch in one hand

[desmond dillon]

  

i carry a torch in one hand 

and a bucket of water in the other: 

with these things i am going to set fire to heaven 

and put out the flames of hell 

so that voyagers to God can rip the veils 

and see the real goal.

  Rabia al Basra 

  (trans by Charles Upton)

[Eva Libre]

Rabia al-Adawiyyah of Basra, Iraq was a famous Sufi Saint, who was noted for her asceticism and many legends have been told about her life. Her concept of divine love was that God should be loved for His own sake and not out of fear.