For I am the first and the last

I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin.
I am the mother and the daughter.

I am she whose wedding is great
and I have not taken a husband.

I am the bride and the bridegroom
I am senseless and I am wise.


Why, you who hate me, do you love me,
and hate those who love me?

I am knowledge and ignorance.

I am shame and boldness.
I am shameless; I am ashamed.

I am control and the uncontrollable.
I am strength and I am fear.
I am war and peace.
I am the substance and the one who has no substance.

But I, I am compassionate and I am cruel.

Do not hate my obedience and do not love my self-control.

I am the union and the dissolution.

I am the silence that is incomprehensible
and the idea whose remembrance is frequent.
I am the voice whose sound is manifold
For I am the first and the last.

(The Thunder, Perfect Mind)