Beloved reached desired glow
And so we say, may it be so
All doubts towards faith did grow
And so we say, may it be so

The devil’s plot caused perturbation
And the nation faced agitation;
Once again was Solomon’s nation
And so we say, may it be so

Beloved who put my heart in pain
Closed doors on my face once again
Friends would console and entertain
And so we say, may it be so

You drank wine on your own
Lusted after all, alone
Now lead the drunk upon a throne
And so we say, may it be so

From your majestic bright face
The flame lighting my place
Each corner, a well-lit space
And so we say, may it be so

From your fake anger and rage
And the sweet turning of the page
The world is a sugary stage
And so we say, may it be so

Night replaced by the morrow
Joy has conquered every sorrow
Sun light, pervasive and thorough
And so we say, may it be so

From mendicant generosity
And lovers’ pertinacity
Revival and vivacity
And so we say, may it be so

Celebrate this festivity
Restored to compatibility
Festivals abound in our city
And so we say, may it be so

O masterful wise minstrel
In the underworld do not dwell
Finally Venus in Libra fell
And so we say, may it be so

The mendicant reached kingly might
In wealth attained unimagined height
Partaking of courtly delight
And so we say, may it be so

Consider the wind in the air
Sweet lips’ bewitching flair
Wailing windpipe will not spare
And so we say, may it be so

The Pharaoh with much hardship
Misfortunes his life grip
Of suffering, Moses strip
And so we say, may it be so

Evil looking and ugly wolf
Drowned in ignorance’s deep gulf
By Joseph’s goodness now dwarf
And so we say, may it be so

O Shams-e Tabrizi, you
Compassionately blend and renew
East and west through and through
And so we say, may it be so

From submission to Satan’s will
Your prophetic soul emerged through this mill
Satan himself, God’s will fulfill
And so we say, may it be so

When the moon was shining its light
Both worlds were garden of delight
All souls for home then took flight
And so we say, may it be so

The ignorant and the blind
With insight are now wise and kind
Surpass Jesus, put him behind
And so we say, may it be so

It was all for souls to grow
May it always have been so
Thy splendor brightly aglow
And so we say, may it be so

All thy wrath was thy mercy
Thy poison, sweet clemency
Like dark clouds’ sweet potency
And so we say, may it be so

In his temple, colors remain
Pulling by the horns will not disdain
When this bull’s blood floors stain
And so we say, may it be so

Silence! I am drunk, you know
My hands are tied in this earthly show
My disheveled mind moves to and fro
And so we say, may it be so

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
July 21, 1998

In such revealing nights I swoon
Others crescent is my full moon
The night when beloved is in our midst
A night as revealing as a hundred high noon.

Around us impotent causality fails
For I long for the day that First Cause unveils
A mendicant poverty won’t shun
Others’ hardships he proudly entrails.

God forbid such emblems under my gown
In every town I wear such crown
The pearl that outgrows both worlds
Within the sea of my heart shall drown.

In this world attained our resurrection grade
Till thoughts of the other & Judgement Day fade
Settle for God’s never ending grace
Grace of all others try to evade.
All the world like Shams-e Tabriz
Is under the parasol shade.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
September 11, 1998

I need a lover and a friend
All friendships you transcend
And impotent I remain

You are Noah and the Ark
You are the light and the dark
Behind the veil I remain

You are passion and are rage
You are the bird and the cage
Lost in flight I remain

You are the wine and the cup
You are the ocean and the drop
While afloat I remain

I said, "O Soul of the world
My desperation has taken hold!"
"I am thy essence," without scold,
"Value me much more than gold."

You are the bait and the trap
You are the path and the map
While in search I remain

You are poison and the sweet
You are defeated and defeat
Sword in hand I remain

You are the wood and the saw
You are cooked, and are raw
While in a pot I remain

You are sunshine and the fog
You are water and the jug
While thirsty I remain

Sweet fragrance of Shams is
The joy and pride of Tabriz
Perfume trader I remain.

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
March 27, 1998

My desert is without end,
My soul, my heart must rend.
The world here out-pictured,
In which picture I descend?
If on the path you see a head
Rolling itself around the bend
Ask our secret from that head
On its answers you can depend.
What turned you to a flying bird
Solomon’s confidant and friend?
How did you turn to a seeing eye
To the trees in our garden attend?
How did you become the tidal wave
And pearls and jewels to the shores send?
Not the seven skies below the heavens,
Our abode, even heavens transcend
Instead of the heavens and the world
In the pastures of Divine Union we blend.
How can I utter a sigh, for with each breath
More perturbed, more agitated, my trend.
How did this ear appear
Which heard our feathered friend
How birds of prey and game play
And in the fresh mountain air ascend.
The height of the seventh sky
Saturn will gladly defend.
What can I say, what do I know
Limits of this story I won’t pretend.
Let go of this story and ask not
My broken hands, I cannot mend
You shall be worthy of the Divine
If this is what our Beloved intend.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari

Vancouver, Canada

August 3, 1998

I went on a journey without me
There I found joy without me
The moon that hid, could not see
Cheek to cheek with me, without me
For beloved set my soul free
I was reborn without me
Without spirit drunk are we
Always happy without me
Erase me from memory
I remember, without me
Without me with joy I plea
May I always be without me
Closed all doors, I could not flee
Then I entered without me
His heart enchained, on his knee
I too am chained without me.
By Shams’ cup, drunken me
His cup never stay without me.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari

Vancouver, Canada

April 13, 1998

Hail Love, hail Love, because Love is divine
It is tender, it is beautiful and benign
What passion, what passion, we are burning like the sun
It is hidden and obscure, it is an obvious sign.
We’ve fallen, we’ve fallen, it is hard to rise up
We know not, we know not, this complex chaotic design.
Hail the moon, hail the moon, it is curved like a cup
To the features and the world, it gave shape, shade and line
Dismounted, dismounted, his horse the King of Kings
Hail the dust, hail the dust, that his trail would define.
What picture, what picture, is drawn on the canvass of heart
How strange, how strange, with the heavens must align.
Be the silent jug, be the silent jug, that contains the secret
From the left, from the right, everyone is seeking that wine.
This brook has such a song, that turns our fortune’s wheel
Not of fate, not of song, neither of this clay of mine
Neither trap, nor of chain, then why do we feel encaged?
What shackle and what rope is so strong yet so fine?
Ó Shahriar Shahriari

Vancouver, Canada

April 13, 1998

The burning orb of the East
Is our honored guest tonight
And the bright moon in this feast
With us will rest tonight.

Alert, vicious, stressed
Heavens dissolve and arrest
The fields of final rest
Our final test tonight.

Clap your hands in surprise
Excited, with us rise
Dance in our enterprise
While at our best tonight.

O sweet singer of love
Tell us the secrets of love
Ecstatic music from above
Is our quest tonight.

Like a lion brave the way
Not like a fox run away,
Wheel of Fortune as we pray
Our lives has blest tonight.

Like new grapes be not sour
Be sweet like nectar and flower
In sugar and candy this hour
We will invest tonight.

The shining jewel that we sought
For which the whole world we fought
Is in our own nest tonight
In our treasure chest tonight.

If you ask Shams-e Tabriz
The reasons that are all his
Union in his breast tonight
At His behest tonight.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Los Angeles, CA
July 24, 1999

When we enter the excitement of the night
We’ll amass gifts from the ocean of the night
The night veils the unseen witness from sight
We cannot compare the day to the night.
Sleep will not want, from sleep will take flight
He who has never seen the picturesque night.
Many a pure soul and heart that is bright
Employed in service to the demands of the night.
Night is an empty pot, black, contrite,
If never tasted delicacies of the night.
This journey is long, God speed our plight
As we traverse the length and width of the night.
From worldly affairs my hands are tied tight
Till twilight I am in the hands of the night.
Commerce and trade are the work of daylight
Of different taste are the trades of the night.
Pride of Tabriz, you have reached solar height
Sun jealous of you, while begs for you the night.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
August 3, 1998

This day, at the tavern, with the drunk we sit
This day, we let go of piety, prayer and holy writ
This day, what can I say, what a feast and wine is it
This day, the cup-bearer is kind and full of wit

This day, no sign of our passage, not even one whit
This day, with the beloved I am a hit
This day, the cup-bearer does not fret a bit
This day, jugs and flowing wine and joy are closely knit

This day, from joy, night and morn cannot split
This day, own senses, hour and time cannot fit
This day, afire, passionately we are lit
This day, this joyous feast, joy shall never quit

This day, torn from ourselves, worship of wine we admit
This day, all we ask for, be in beloved’s unit
True Light of Tabriz showed his foes the way out of the pit
This day, by divine wine, not by superstitious grit.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
April 13, 1998

To the call of the tavern arise, arise
Fear not separation, be wise, be wise
A kingly feast is your prize, your prize
Intoxicated souls don’t despise, despise
You too drink this wine, see the disguise
Appearance of the Lord is a needed surprise.
You are all drunk, and your watery eyes
Like the shining sun, light up the night skies
This place is all kindness, compassion
Love, beauty, grace, goodness, passion
Fear not, fear not, enter this realm of the Wise
In this tavern for all sins, forgiveness with the Lord lies
For every ailment, divine grace is medication
The Judge of this tavern forgives every transgression.

Praise emancipation
Praise divine revelation
Praise soul’s coronation
Praise joyous elation
Praise the pride of a nation
This symbol of adoration
Who brought poetic inspiration
To this house of intoxication.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
April 2, 1998

Each breath is a song of love
From left and right, pass us by
We’ll return to the world above
Such fate no-one can defy.

We have come from the skies
Befriended angels in heaven
To the same place we will rise
To that city past skies seven.

We are above the skies
And angels we transcend
Why should we compromise?
The House of Songs is our end.

With good fortune may we live
Fate is contradictory,
Gladly our lives may we give
Worldly pride victory.

The sweet scent of this breeze
Is from the curl of that hair
Radiant fantasy on its knees
Upon that face gladly stare.

People are like the loons
Are born from the sea of soul
Stay afloat many moons
The sea the loon control.

On that sea came the wave
While the ship was taking form
From shipwreck no-one could save
Returned to sea by that storm.

What seemed bad, was grace
Kindness was in the wave’s wrath
Dawn of fulfillment is in place
Lighting up that divine path.

From Tabriz began to shine
The Light of Truth, to me call
Thy light is Light Divine
Distinct, yet connecting all.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
April 13, 1998

You closed your eyes, meaning it’s time to sleep
It is not sleep, that upon your enemies heap.

You know that a close watch we do not keep
Yet hurried are your eyes, drunken, deadly, deep.

You do me wrong, but that is your treat
Your mistakes, like God’s grace, I gladly greet.

Many heads are lost when those eyes meet
By that blade, that drop of water, you defeat.

Alas, my eyes are a sea of blood
Many worlds are destroyed by that flood

Sometimes bloodthirsty, some messenger of God
sometimes a cup-bearer, some wine, red as blood.

What is cup-bearer and wine, if not divine
God only knows, what for is this love of mine.

In the kitchen of heart we can wine and dine
The whole town can smell such aromatic sign.

Close your mouth like a diver in the sea
Only under water can fish remain free.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
April 13, 1998

Come along, come along, the fields are a-flower
Come along, come along, it’s the lover’s hour.
Come along, all at once, every soul and all the world
Bathe yourselves in the sun’s golden arrows’ shower.
Mock the crone who is left without a companion
Weep for the lonesome he, who has left his lover.
Everyone must rise up, and spread the news,
Mad man has cut his chain and escaped the tower.
Beat the drums without care, and remain speechless,
Mind and heart fled long before the soul fled the bower.
What a day, what a day, it feels like Judgement Day,
Impotent is our life’s book, has lost its very power.
Be silent, be silent, keep the veil, keep the veil,
Go for the sweet grapes, let go of the sour.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Los Angeles, CA
May 24, 1999

Hawk told the statue "over land I glide"
Statue said, "I’m fine, enjoy your ride."

When I am glad, I can go to sleep
But go for a walk when I’m sad and weep

If in the bottom of a dark well dwell
For handsome Joseph, at least, must fare well.

Where beloved is, is ideal place
Bottom of a well, or high up in space.

In deep dark ocean the oyster will hurl
All caution with joy, searching for pearl.

When God sweeps away all your greed
Return to your soul, the sole guide you need.

In the divine light, a speck of dust
Joyously dances, without need or lust.

You too can choose to dance in light divine
Delight the stars and deep earthly mine.

Pride of Tabriz, King of the Wise
Joy in company and solitude arise.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
April 12, 1998

Upon which path did I tread
So I return, all else I dread;
From Beloved being apart
In the creed of Love is being misled.
If I find another in the whole town
Ain’t but a sign pointing to the Beloved.
I said this is no easy path
In each step a thousand traps spread
O broken heart come not this way
Stay upon your own tender bed.
Seek that which increases the soul
Ask for the wine that lightens your head;
All else is shape and appearance
Fame and shame’s battle and wed.
Be silent, be seated, and be still
Drunken, with such wine break your bread.
O Pride of Spirit, Shams-e Tabriz
Enslaved to Thee my heart and soul instead.

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
September 17, 1998

Separation from companions is unwise
Treading the path without light is unwise
If the throne and scepter have been your prize
Descent from prince to pauper is unwise.
For Beloved, the you in you is disguise
To focus on the you in you is unwise.
If once to heavenly abundance you rise
Desperation and impotence is unwise.
Hear the thief’s greedy and fearful cries
Fraudulent deception too is unwise.
Able-body, chains & shackles unties
Idleness of such a body is unwise.
Your foothold gone, your soul freely flies
Wingless & featherless flight is unwise;
Given wings, reach only for Godly skies
Flying away from God’s Will is unwise.
To you, phoenix, demise is mere lies
Phoenix running from fire is unwise.

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
September 17, 1998

In my work, all my time, idly spend
I am in love, to the depths of love descend.
The lion of thy longing hunted me down
This same lion in my trap will find its end.
On the shores of thy ocean is my hometown
Kissed by waves, though depths upward won’t send.
In the heavenly spirits and wine I drown
Worship of vine no more need I pretend;
My patience by this spirit turns to frown
Fault me not if pride is not of my trend.
Like Father Sun, capture the world with my crown
Without soldiers, scepter or knights can defend.
Sugar, from Egypt to Rome, I bring down
Though day and night can never make me amend.
With thy rose mixed my essence, my very own,
Why, the thorn upon my head, the rose will lend.
O Pride of Tabriz, Shams of the spirit, renown
In both worlds, where can I find a better friend?

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
September 17, 1998

Once again my beloved sought me and found
Joyously in the marketplace sought me and found.
I hid myself, at my feet that drunken rose, rose from the ground
I escaped the House of Wine, sought me and found.
How wondrous that so doggedly would hound
What luck that such swindling lock sought me and found.
Who would find me if with crowds myself surround?
Knower of crowded secrets sought me and found.
I have left a bloody trail; just look around
And the one on my trail sought me and found.
Run away to what avail, deathward bound
Why hide, a thousand times sought me and found.
I pulled the thorn from my side, yet one more round
That oak towering flowerbeds sought me and found.
Like a pearl at the bottom of ocean, drowned
Pearl diver, with a string sought me and found.
Shams-e Tabriz with piercing eyes and no sound
In the light of insight sought me and found.

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
October 15, 1998

Tell me, is sugar sweeter
Or He who makes sugar cane?
Beauty of the moon is better
Or He who makes it wax and wane?

Leave all the moons behind
Put sugar out of your mind
In Him another you’ll find
He makes another kind of grain.

O mind you may be wise
In knowledge and insight may rise
Or is it better to prize
He who makes the mind insane?

Body, soul, mind and heart
With power will make a start
Yet in a drop, with art
A hundred eyes will entertain.

O love, O tumultuous love
O restless bleeding dove
This fire from above
Makes love in your heart reign.

With His love I am raw
I am confused and in awe
Sometimes my flames withdraw
Sometimes consumed and slain.

The ocean of loving grace
Traces the lover’s face
A drop of thought will replace
A thousand pearls will remain.

O Shams-e Tabriz, my pain
A hundred ways my heart would drain
Sometimes a blade, cuts my vein
Sometimes the shield I urge in vain.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Los Angeles, CA
May 24, 1999

Alas that beautiful beloved where hence?
Alas that graceful Goddess where hence?
In our midst like a candle brightly shone
Where hence, alas, without us where hence?
Like a shivering leaf my heart constantly moan
Beloved left at midnight, where hence?
Ask wayfarers to have the path shown
That soul-pleasing companion, where hence?
In the garden ask the gardener alone
That unequalled King has gone, where hence?
In the watch towers ask the guards who have known
That beautiful rose stem, where hence?
In madness roaming the desert sand and stone
That dear lost in this pasture, where hence?
My eyes from tears into a river have grown
In this ocean, that Pearl where hence?
Although is with others, is our very own
From us has flown, where to? Where hence?

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
September 11, 1998

Spring is nigh, spring is nigh
Beautiful spring has come by
The whole world is green and fresh
Tulips raise their heads up high.
Listen to the Lily, sweet Basil
Lily in ten tongues speaks so well
Watch the waters and the dusty fields
How colors and shapes multiply.
Flowers try to understand
How they were estranged in this land
One claims to be joyously pleased
From that land joys have come, why?
Jasmine asks Cypress with a glance
Why such intoxicated dance?
Cypress whispers in its ear
With a gentle friend I now lie.
Narcissus conveyed with a wink
How thus smile and drink
Flower said, yes I do laugh
My beloved is nearby.
Spruce said the difficult path
With King’s grace has no aftermath
Each leaf that has sprung up
A lustrous blade, as I espy.
Poppy adorned the green field
Truths clearly themselves revealed
Elegant flower from sheer joy
Scattered petals, with the wind fly.
Many, many came to such a feast
Basil, Narcissus, flowers of the East
To every fruit bearing tree
A million blossoms themselves tie.
From Shams-e-Din-e Tabrizi
Came the wine, refreshing, easy
Like a dear royal mother-of-pearl
Each drop of wine would satisfy.

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
October 26, 1998

Those to Mecca on pilgrimage
When reached their destined stage
Saw a home made out of stone
Amidst the desert carnage.
In that house they sought God
Yet empty they found that cage;
Discharged their dutiful prayers
From the stone heard a message:
"O idol-worshipers, why praise mud and stone
Worship only the house that is praised by the sage.
That House of God is the abode of the heart
Blessed are those whom to the heart made their pledge;
They walked their path upright and straight
Unlike wheel of fortune’s hunched revolving age.
Those who landed in the state of singular intelligence
No longer placed the other on a separate page
The group who only saw the stony house
Like a satanic cult, God disparage.
Whoever found a glimpse of that House in this
Not even in the heavens would seek tutelage
Wearing pilgrims’ garb, going around this house
Leave body, head, heart, and soul to pay homage.
The tribe that found God only in a friend,
They are the keys to that House, upon the ledge.
Hope and compassion reside in the Real House
Those who turned to love, found their wage.
In spite of obstacles, they are in the house of love,
Who amidst both worlds, their bets on beloved hedge.
Even the archangels are in awe
Of resurrection after such rampage
Blessed are those who like Shams-e Tabriz
Remained within, far from desert’s rage.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
August 5, 1998

You who seek God apart, apart,
The thing you seek, thou art, thou art;
Why then search for what you have not lost?
Searching for what’s not lost, distrust, distrust!

Thou art the letters, names and the book
Prophets and angels your word undertook;
Just sit still, this futile search let go
You are the house, master and foe
Essence and form, celestial and from earth
Always eternal, in death and at birth.

If you want to see the beloved’s face
Polish the mirror, gaze into that space
In these truths, the secrets you weave
Are your punishments, yourselves deceive.

Shams-e Tabrizi, is the world Emperor
Seekers of his grace are behind which door?
This graceful King showers you with gifts
Unbeknownst to you, your souls uplifts.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
April 13, 1998

O Pilgrims, thou art where, thou art where?
The Beloved is neigh, come hither, come hither.
Thy beloved is thy neighbor, behind the wall
Lost in the desert, you are seeking and you fall;
If that lovely faceless face you once see
Pilgrim and shrine and house you know are all thee.
From house to house, you sought for proof
Yet never ascended up to the roof.
If it is the house of soul you seek
In the mirror see the face that’s meek.
If you’ve been to the garden, where is your bunch?
And where your soulful pearl if at sea you lunch.
With all this pain where is your gain?
The only veil, yourself, remain.
Hidden treasure chest, buried in soil
Why let dark clouds full moon spoil?
King of the World, to you will show
Magical shapes, in spirit you grow.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
April 13, 1998

For the love of God, no other love seek
In the abode of Soul, no other task seek
Other than the Beloved, never seek another mate
Seek not to doubt, trivia make you weak.
Another love, another task, is an impossible fate
In thy Godly faith, seek not doubt’s stench & reek
In soul’s territory, heart’s courage is great
With such courage turn from strangers and paths oblique.
Half the world like vultures, half carcass-like wait
Cast not vulture’s eyes upon the dead and the meek.
If seduces with looks, with features and trait
Try to see the thorns in that rosy cheek.
Upon temptations dwell not, nor debate
Don’t make a leader from every lost freak.
Trust not the one who turns from love to hate
Secrets of your heart with such do not speak.
If the Light of Shams shone upon you of late
Concern not yourself with this passing garden’s state.

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
September 14, 1998

Go and die, go and die,
For this love go and die,
When in this love you die
You will let spirits fly.

Go and die, go and die,
Fear no death, don’t be shy
When in this dust you lie
Your spirit will soar up high.

Go and die, go and die,
Let this existence pass by
This existence is your tie
And prisoners you and I.

With an axe cut the tie
And this, your prison, defy
When your chains you untie
With Kings, identify.

Go and die, go and die,
The handsome King satisfy
For the Lord when you die
Your glories multiply.

Go and die, go and die,
Like the tearful clouds, cry
When the cloud has run dry
You are the light of the eye.

Silence try, silence try
As close as you get to die
All your life, you apply
Your sigh and silence deny.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Los Angeles, CA
May 24, 1999

That barbed wire on your path is the mind
Cut the wire and your path clearly find.
Heart trickster, soul veil and mind bind
To find the path you must put all three behind.
When you transcend heart and soul as well as mind
It is like giving sight to the blind.
Make your chest like a target well defined
That bow is strung, the arrow is well aligned
Only that chest in complaint can open tongue
On whose face hundred arrows have been flung
To think love is for the feeble is just wrong
Love is for the courageous and the strong.
Self-expression to the needy don’t belong
Benevolent Love is the path for old and young.
If like Enoch must follow the angelic song
Will find Love on that ladder in every wrung
Shams-e Tabriz is here, joyous and kind
Gospel of Love in his being you will find.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
April 14, 1998

Open the door to yet another initiate
Offer some wine, his drunkenness accelerate
You had closed the doors to the upper rooms
Came the command from yet a higher estate.
You who have fulfilled all my desires
Yet another desire, my heart infatuate.
Your beautiful face is another country
The curl of your hair yet another state
Such country and such state I shall seek
Till government takes yet another trait.
Every dawn the rising sun, Thy slave
At your feet yet another time will prostrate
With praises of Thee and those in Thy Court
This world, itself yet another time elate.
How joyous the time that I silence my voice
Spirit’s voice my soul with joy inflate.
I shall pack my bags, leave this world for that
Witness the order that Thou will create.

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
September 28, 1998

Once more I seek audience with my very own King
Once again joyously I have spread my soul’s wing.
Once more fate and fortune will beseech
That in this earthly camp, my tent I should pitch.
We gave credence to the angels as well as to the beast
The soul’s bird returned once more to Solomon’s soulful feast.
Intoxication by the Beloved has become my sweet abode
Soulful Joseph’s lock of hair is in an uncurling mode.
Once a friend asked me, why thus engage your fate?
Imagine how is the one who has found that soulful state!
My determined Beloved unveiled his lovely face
The canary of the soul sang his songs of praise
The sweetness that is not found, even in dreams
From my own very teeth, thank goodness, sweetly teems.
Headless, footless, indeed, without retinue I lead
In my own sweet land, sweetness to myself feed.
My heart in search of shining Shams headed for Tabriz
Go, go, my golden heart, your own gold seek and seize.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
June 28, 1998

Like a candle I shine, reflecting the light
Turn my fortune so I can shed myself candle-like
The promise of the morning breeze, of joining Thee day and night
Burning, yellow, shaking, crying and humble, candle-like.
Thy flowing hair, like scissors sheer my soul at its height
In this fire of separation burn me no more, candle-like.
Pearls overflowing from the sea of my eye, fill my bosom in delight
My burning heart sent its flames blazing upward, candle-like.
Solar flares set in the celestial lantern, sooth the sight
Every morn dam my tears and shed no more, candle-like.
Thy face is spring like, thy fire sorrows fight
How long burn in this solstice of separation, candle-like?
From the memory of thy light, every night flames take flight
If only my heart fire would burn, my soul desire candle-like.How long burn thyself Shams-e Tabrizi, thy love beaming bright
We know of nothing other than burning up, candle-like.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari

Vancouver, Canada

July 1, 1998

I knocked on heart’s door, for heart I crave
Came, "who knocks?" I said, "heart’s slave!"
The bright beams of love shone through the door’s crack
Upon the passers by, and lit up that deep black
Wave upon wave of lovely beams, my heart was over-run
Compared to this bright light, were pale the moon and sun.
If the mind takes command, heart enslavement will demand
Will put a leash on mind and all, and hold the end in its hand.
This excitement in the world, serves only to agitate
And break loose every chain, for this joyous heartful state.
His body brings forth light, enthroned upon the seat of might
Soul at its door sits in delight, and reads much in that sight.
He is not a mendicant, who speaks little yet says much
Reflect upon reflections, see all that is while "nothing" watch.
All who have tasted this wine, are compelled to walk this line
Every one of stars nine, with heart’s design themselves align.
From Tabriz one such as Shams, arrives for seekers of divine
Nurtures in love’s vineyard, gardener of thy soul’s vine.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari

Vancouver, Canada

June 15, 1998

I was dead, became alive
Was tearful, laughingly thrive
With love survive, my only drive
I have become eternal.

My eyes no longer seek
Am courageous, no more meek
Daring lion, far from weak
Shine like Venus celestial.

Said, "madness is not thy code
You don’t deserve this abode."
With madness my life explode
Chains before me break and fall.

"Intoxicated, thou art not
Art not from this divine cut."
I drank my senses out
Joyously roamed in life’s hall.

"Thou art not yet slain
Joy runs not in thy vein."
Before life now I remain
Slain, sacrificed and small.

"Thou art sly and cunning
Thy thoughts are wildly running."
My deception was stunning
Then rejected the external.

Said, "Thou have been a candle light
Crowds focus upon thy sight."
Sight I am not, light without might
Scattered smoke, wide and tall.

"Thou art guru and teacher
Thou art leader, head, preacher."
I am a mere creature
Thy will is my only call.

"Thou have feathers, have taken wing
Feather and wing I did not bring."
In pursuit of flight of King
Lost my feathers, now I crawl.

My beloved, old and fair
Said, "this story, me spare."
I agreed to not share
Peaceful and eternal.

Thou art the sun’s source and spring
While to shade my body cling
Upon my head, hot rays sting
I feel the heart infernal.

With light of my soul aglow
My heart opened with loving flow
Weaving a new cloth to show
Against the tattered rags and all.

That divine face, at time of dawn
Many deceptions would spawn
Enslaved with a thorny crown
Beloved upon throne install.

I, thy instrument, Thee praise
Thy infinite sweet phase
In my bosom came to raze
And brought down my ignorant wall.

Praises Thee this drunken dust
Praise the stars and earth I must
Receive thy light with full trust
From luminous orbiting ball.

The firmaments are in praise
Of lords, lands, angelic gaze
Gracefully love and amaze
Compassionately, wisely, enthrall.

The wise praise the Lord well
Thus surpass all and excel
Upon the seven skies swell
Give birth to light, maternal.

I am of Thee O famed moon,
Gazing at me do not swoon
Contagious joy in me bloom
Laughs my every petal.

I was Venus, now am moon
Wallowing like a gloomy lune
Became Joseph very soon
Pregnant with hope of renewal.

As if playing a game of chess
Make your call while speechless
King of the World my life will bless
With a glance, existential.

From slavery to kingly might
From Venus to satellite
Was distant unknown point of light
Am luminous orb of love, eternal!

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
June 15-21, 1998

Like a connoisseur I shall seek the bouquet of that wine
Both worlds and their dignitaries I shall put out of line.
I’ll climb the tall mountain and of love raise the sign
With a humble and clear heart I shall sigh and confess
If for a year or so in the bottom of a pit confine
The mad heart-stricken me, emancipation shall press.
Since I have committed to climb that incline
Upon any opposition my resolve shall impress.
I and thou, heart and body, I myself do not define
With head and heart stay away from this corporal regress.
With your demands you also give the means and the design
Wherever I look, all I see is your loving kindness.
When I drink from the wine of love, every moment I silently resign
I put on my armor, ready for war, in battlefield I seek success.
Why, against the untimely and the dark night I am fearless
Because even from the west you cause the moon rays to shine.
O Shams-e Tabrizi this sapping separation of mine
Has caused me to go into the marketplace, noisy and restless.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari

Vancouver, Canada

July 1, 1998

Everyday I meditate upon this, and every night I groan
Why is my own existence to myself the least known?

Whence have I come, why this coming here?
Where to must I go, when will my home to me be shown?

I am in desperate awe, why was I ever created?
For this, my creation, whatsoever was the reason?

Whatever is of the celestial realm, of that I speak
I am ready to go, my clothes are packed to be away thrown.

Why, take me to the tavern of that mighty King
I am drunk of that aroma, only by that wind may be blown

Joyous be that day that in search of the beloved
I take wing towards that land, upon that air I am flown.

Where is that ear that can hear my speech and song?
Who is the one who puts voice in this mouth of dust and stone?

Who is in these eyes through which gazes out to see?
Who is the one who wears this garment of flesh and bone?

Until I am lead without a doubt to my way home,
I will hold my breath, will only complain and moan.

Let me taste the wine of eternal communion
Cry out in drunkenness, intoxicated, broken, alone.

I did not come here on my own accord, nor will I thus leave
He who brought me here, shall return me to my very own.

Think not that I write these verses in a sober state
If sober, such seeds I could not possibly have sown.

Shams-e Tabriz, if you show not your face here and now
My earthly corpse, by God, I shall surely disown.

Between my beloved and I this is the only veil
It is time to unveil and disrobe the light that brightly shone

With extreme joy I tear and shred my earthly garment
By casting of my clothes, into the glory of my soul I’ve grown.

I wear this earthly corps for what use, to what avail?
I am not a cawing crow, of heavenly birds is my tone

I am a bird of Paradise, I am not of the earthy realm
For a few days imprisoned in my cage of flesh and bone.

My soul is my guide, for my soul is of that abode
I will not speak of the earthly, I am of the unknown.

The fragrant morning breeze brings news of union
With joy and with song I’ll leave this cage, this earthly throne.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari

Vancouver, Canada

June 21, 1998