‘Unbreakable’ by Mirabai

Unbreakable, O Lord,
Is the love
That binds me to You:
Like a diamond,
It breaks the hammer that strikes it.

My heart goes into You
As the polish goes into the gold.
As the lotus lives in its water,
I live in You.

Like the bird
That gazes all night
At the passing moon,
I have lost myself dwelling in You.

O my Beloved Return.

Mirabai is a Hindu saint and she wrote an enormous amount of devotional poetry in the 16th century. I find her work very inspirational and full of wisdom and beauty. I think this is a simply beautiful poem. I love the images of the poet’s love for God as an unbreakable diamond, and of her heart as a lotus, and God as the water in which it lives. My favourite image is that of the lotus flower, because it is so still and peaceful and pure.

Reviewed by Emily Ardagh