[زکریا فتاحی]

Lovers alas, lovers alas
Whoever sees that faceless face
Confusion in him amass
Desperation will embrace.

For beloved cross every pass
Worldly affairs slow their pace
A flowing brook amidst the grass
Flowing tears his face shall trace

His ego is shattered glass
Self-estranged, himself deface
Sense the Divine in spirit and mass
If he is truly seeking grace

Love can withstand molten brass
Gives his own soul in this chase
Through this trap lovingly pass
And find himself beside that face

With love himself will embarrass
Lost in time and in space
There’s no cure, potion, herb or grass
For one who’s lost his earthly base

And his prize, to reach that class
In this futile endless race
Until death too will come to pass
And move him to that place.

The love that hurts will never pass
It is a very special case
Transcendent love has its own class
The aching heart is wrapped in lace

Run out of sand many hourglass
Many a dream lost in space
If miracle shall come to pass
Every magic shall displace

There is no king and no palace
Facing that graceful faceless face
Brave lions cry out alas
Beside the dogs guarding that place.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari

Vancouver, Canada

April 2, 1998