moving lips

And when, by the hair, the headsman held up the head
Of Mary of Scots, the lips kept on moving,
But without sound. The lips,
They were trying to say something very important.

excerpt from Robert Penn Warren:
A Way to Love God

quatrain 1312

From Sunlight, quatrain 1312:

By day I praised you
And never knew it.
By night I stayed with you
And never knew it.

I always thought that I was me – but no,
I was you
and never knew it!

version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva

quatrain 171

A delicate and intriguing quatrain #171 via Sunlight and with Barks' genius injected:

I circle your nest tonight,
around and around until morning
when a breath of air says, Now,
and the Friend holds up like a goblet
some anonymous skull.

version by Coleman Barks

quatrain 1504

Today Sunlight has two versions of quatrain 1504:

Don't sit with a sad person,
Only sit with those who are sweet and kind-hearted.
When you've entered a beautiful garden
   Why spend your time with the weeds?
   Stay with the jasmine and the jonquil.

version by Jonathan Star and Shahram Shiva

i told you don't sit around
with unhappy folks
don't seek the company of any
but those delicious and sweet
when you're in a garden
make your way
around the thorns
seek the company
of narcissus and jasmine
every flower and more

trans by Nader Khalili