[زکریا فتاحی]

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