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  • Writer's pictureAl Tyers Therapy

Found in Clerkenwell:14th century poem of hope

I saw this on a walk this week, the picture is taken just around the corner from the consulting room where I see people for psychotherapy in Clerkenwell.

A wall with a painted poem
Poem by Hafiz

It’s painted on a quiet street, opposite a pub and in between some rather grand residences, and it just greets you joyfully as you come around the corner. It isn’t the best photo but I think you get the idea. I might go back and take a picture of it in the daylight.


I gather that the quote is from a verse written by the 14th century Persian Sufi poet Hafiz of Shiraz.

I wish I could show you, when you are in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being

The artwork is gorgeous, just the black fancy calligraphy on the whitewashed wall. And what a sentiment, what a vision for human possibility and connection.


According to Wiki, Hafiz's name meant "the memoriser" or "the safe keeper".


He was translated into English in the 18th century and inspired figures as diverse as Goethe, Conan Doyle, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Engels.


As well as the person who has painted this so beautifully on the wall in Clerkenwell.

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