I am the first and the last. I am the honored one and the scorned one. I am the whore and the holy one. I am the wife and the virgin. I am the mother and the daughter. I am the members of my mother. I am the barren one And many are her sons. I am she whose wedding is great, And I have not taken a husband. I am the midwife and she who does not bear. I am the solace of my labor pains. I am the bride and the bridegroom, And it is my husband who begot me. I am the mother of my father And the sister of my husband And he is my offspring. I am the slave of him who prepared me. I am the ruler of my offspring. I am the staff of his power in his youth, And he is the rod of my old age. And whatever he wills happens to me. I am the silence that is incomprehensible And the idea whose remembrance is frequent. I am the voice whose sound is manifold And the word whose appearance is multiple. I am the utterance of my name. I am knowledge and ignorance. I am shame and boldness. I am shameless; I am ashamed. I am strength and I am fear. I am war!...