Classic Poem

When joy surprises me, I ripen
Before the gathering of figs and grapes,
And call to my master who is one with my soul:
" Pour out your wine for all, my body is the cup. "

When joy surprises me, the sea
Floods in upon the thresholds of the night
Carrying in a basket all the fruits of the season
And I make myself a necklace of the sea's treasures.

When joy surprises me, I cry out:
" Master alight at my side,
I will hide you tonight in the cloak of my love,
Here's my body flowering for your wayward stallions. "

When joy surprises me, I come forth
With my loosened hair, following my lovers,
I open my breast to the bird flocks, " who, " I say,
" Will repair to the regions of the Female if lovers go? "

When joy surprises me, I come forth
From my hidden cities and kindle my incense-burners,
And bless the tree of my body; then all I've hidden
shows on my face and my secret is out.

When joy surprises me, I inhabit
The incadescent kingdom of lightning
Sleep with the sap in the heart of the leaf,
Return when the palm branch is heavy with dates.

When joy surprises me, I cry out,
" Priest of the Nile Valley, here are my fish
Dead, and my horse is slain before me.
With what chant then shall I open this requiem? "

When joy surprises me, I go
To the soothsayer bearing my broken pitcher
And he lays his hands on my chilled body and declares,
" For seven nights shall this glad face be grieved. "

When joy surprises me, I behold
A hawk perched on the castles of the winds
I loosen my locks over my face and cry,
" From what frontiers does this portent come? "

When joy surprises me, and its white gulls
Alight on my body, I see my shroud
Through my ecstasy, and so I strew
All I possess on the waves and I depart