Dance, Lalla, with nothing on
but air. Sing, Lalla,
wearing the sky.
Look at this glowing day! What clothes
could be so beautiful, or
more sacred? 

~ Lalla, or Lalleshvari
A Kashmiri poet, circa 1350

Here’s another:


I didn’t trust it for a moment,
but I drank it anyway,
the wine of my own poetry.
It gave me the daring to take hold
of the darkness and tear it down
and cut it into little pieces.

(from Naked Song Lalla, translations by Coleman Barks, Maypop, Athens, GA, 1992)