One , April 11, 1996.

(C) Copyright 1997, Mahmoud A. El-Gamal.

Of all the numbers, I have found the One

to be the hardest one to comprehend:

Its understanding, if and when it's won,

to that mind which attains it is its end.

If arrogance convinces you that you

can comprehend The One, you must reflect:

what you perceive is not The One, but two;

the subject, and the object you detect.

The One 's the only one who can perceive

His Own Existence as The One Alone,

but man - if he is null - may yet receive

the secrets of ``Sincerity'' and ``Dawn''.*

To comprehend The One, anihilate

the ``I'' that is, for you, the devil's bait.

* Sincerity = surah 112, Dawn= surah 89, of the Holy Qur'an.