The following thoughts of Rabia al Adawiyya (714? — 801 CE) were presumably spoken in an assembly of fellow seekers. For more about her, please see this earlier post.

Brothers, my peace is in my aloneness.
My Beloved is alone with me there, always.
I have found nothing in all the worlds
That could match His love,
This love that harrows the sands of my desert.
If I come to die of desire
And my Beloved is still not satisfied,
I would live in eternal despair.

To abandon all that He has fashioned
And hold in the palm of my hand
Certain proof that He loves me—
That is the name and the goal of my search.

English version by Andrew Harvey