I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell:
And by and by my Soul return'd to me,
And answer'd, «I myself am Heav'n and Hell»:
This quatrain is inspired by O. 15.
Already on the Day of Creation, beyond the heavens, my soul
Searched for the Tablet and Pen, and for heaven and hell,
At last the Teacher said to me with His enlightened judgment,
«Tablet and Pen, and heaven and hell, are within thyself.»[71]
Ref.: O. 15, L. 59, B. 56, P. 114, B. ii. 69, P. v. 79—W. 114, V. 58.
Heav'n but the Vision of fulfill'd Desire,
And Hell the Shadow from a Soul on fire,
Cast on the Darkness into which Ourselves,
So late emerged from, shall so soon expire.
The inspiration for this verse comes from O. 33.
The heavenly vault is a girdle (cast) from my weary body.
Jihun[72] is a water-course worn by my filtered tears,
Hell is a spark from my useless worries,
Paradise is a moment of time when I am tranquil.