noon
I ask to gather no pebble from the path nor flower from the tree ; I will have the jewelled necklace of thy beauty to hang above my heart , and the grove of thy sweetness in which to take my rest . I love thee , and for the agony of the hours passed in the ruined temples I will take my reward . I love thee , love thee , love thee ! '' She made no sound when he bent and kissed her hair , but in the glory of the love which is that of youth , which is as a bud at dawn , the full flower at noon and a few petals at dusk , and of which the fragrance stays with you down all the ages , she raised her face so that he kissed her on the mouth . And he kissed her closed eyes and the pillar of her throat and the whiteness of her shoulders , and her crimson mouth again and yet again , in the wonder of this , his hour of life , granted him by Allah who is God ; and then raised his head and stared out across the desert . From a great distance there came to him the drumming of a horse 's hoofs upon the sand . '' _ The true , strong , and sound mind is the mind that can embrace equally great things and small .