Jináb-i-Varqá

Last year i had the bounty of going on pilgrimage to Haifa, Israel. On this pilgrimage i had the bounty of meeting with Hand of the Cause of God Mr. Varqá. i knew that this would be the last time i saw him as he was very old and i would not be returning to the Holy Land anytime soon. This last weekend he passed away in Haifa and was buried in the Bahá'í cemetery there.

For those of you who do not know i will briefly outline who he was. The founder of the Faith appointed His eldest son as His successor. His son appointed His eldest grandson as His successor. These three leaders of the faith appointed individuals who were known as Hands of the Cause and they helped promote and protect the Faith. When the Guardian passed away these individuals were left alone to guide the community. There were to be no more as the Guardian did not and could not appoint a successor and only the Guardian could appoint Hands of the Cause. Knowing this, the Hands of the Cause set about arranging for the election of the Universal House of Justice as mentioned by Bahá'u'lláh and through the process outlined by 'Abdu'l-Bahá (His son). They asked that they not be voted for and when the Universal House of Justice was elected they turned over all control of the Faith to them. Unheard of in the annals of religion, one group with absolute power turned that power over to another. Mr. Varqá was the last Hand of the Cause of God. i have had the bounty of meeting a number of them growing up and had one of them as a relative so that we saw him more often.
i was saddened by the loss of Mr. Varqá. i have written this poem, however inadequate, in his honor.

Jináb-i-Varqá

That last great Hand
In that distant land
He arrived and
We all stand

Sitting face to face
That pilgrim night
Those eyes so deep
Filling all with delight

The joy expressed
From east and west
For the chance to be
With one so blessed

His words of kindness
Of joy and peace
Exhorting all to teach
To stretch out and reach
To go beyond mere speech

The last of those
Whom we will know
no more
has brought tears to eyes
drained and sore

For now he is gone home
Free to roam
With his loved ones
And fellow Hands

So much we owe
To that blessed soul
Who protected all
In that sacred role
Of steward to
Our blessed faith
In times of peril
They stood strong
Preventing all that
Could go wrong
And in the end
They would not bend
And stood firm
To the very end

Arise we must
And fulfill our trust
To teach the cause
Without pause

shiidon, September 2007

Sacrifice

A recently forwarded email to me was outlining the differences between tollerance and intollerance and was siting the way Bahá'ís are treated in both countries. There were photographs attached in power point format. There was one in particular that wrenched my soul and brought great grief and pain to me that has finally been finding rest in my poem. There were two young teenage boys in Iran being hung for lets say an indescretion. Regardless of what was done it did not deserve the death of two young souls. i was remembering a story many years ago about a little boy in England and his brutal end to life. The need to express myself came strongly. The poem starts off with a description of the losses but ends in hope.
This poem has helped me process some of the pain felt by the horrors so many people go through.

Sacrifice
Two boys hung
What have they done
Where is justice
Gone amiss

The little one
Lead away
Never to see
Another day
Protection lost
At great cost

The war rages
We know not why
Standing about
Amid the shouts
Watching the killing
While people are milling
About

Until a time when justice
is heeded
many a sacrifice is what
is needed

Sitting on the couch
Watching the tube
Sit many a soul
in deep ineptitude

Sorrow not
At this thought
For in this day
There is a way
One by one
they arise
From all places
Are they comprised
standing linked
hand in hand
an unbroken chain
changing the land
determined to stop
the horrors wrought
Step by step
Reaching out

Take that hand, and arise
For one day they say
Through unity
You will see
The Most Great Peace
Oh let it be

shiidon, September 2007

Ridván Garden

Well, another poem came to me just as i was getting ready to retire for the night. This poem recalls the Ridván Garden in the Akká area that Bahá'u'lláh would at times visit and rest. There are orchards and peacocks in this green and beautiful garden. Some of you may have been there or read depictions of it. On my most recent pilgrimage i found out that the waters that surrounded the benches in this garden are to be brought back and once again water will flow like it did in the time of Bahá'u'lláh. If i am allowed the bounty of pilgrimage again, i may be able to see this garden with water flowing as it once did.

Ridván Garden

Beneath the mulberry tree
Amidst the gardens grow
We sat and listened
To the peacocks crow

Surrounding benches blue
Gardens grew
Abundant fruit amass
Reminiscent of times past
When He would come sit and share
With one and all alert, aware
Of the food of the soul
That accompanied the fruit
The one a sign of the other

From those days to this
The fruit brings bliss
As it is shared by all
And strikes reminisce
Of those early years
Remembered in tears
That are brought on
In that Garden of Ridván
shiidon, September 2007

Covenant

i have been reading the "Child of the Covenant" by Adib Taherzadeh. i was inspired to write this poem dedicated to the Covenant. It was with His own pen that Bahá'u'lláh stated that His followers were to follow His eldest son following His death. 'Abdu'l-Bahá (His eldest son) appointed His eldest grandson as the Guardian of the Faith after His passing. It was after the passing of the Guardian that the Hands of the Cause of God, the chief stewards of the Faith, arranged for the election of the first Universal House of Justice. It is this Institution that was first described by Bahá'u'lláh, further elaborated upon by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and then the Guardian that is the Head of the Bahá'í Faith unitl the coming of the next Manifestation of God. This uniqe Covenant has protected the Faith from schism and will continue to do so. This is the "day in which no night shall follow." And now my inadequate poem to this mighty Covenant.

Covenant

What joy to know
The Covenant, He did bestow
Has made its way
To this very day
Working for unity
Within the community
Protecting the dear ones
With the hands of the Loved ones

From the rose scented gardens
He did hail
The Gate through whom
All would travail
To please Him
By searching for Him,
Whom God shall make
Manifest

The Lord of Hosts did come
Upon Carmel He raised His call
A mighty Covenant did He bestow
The fruits of which are now shown
By the glorious Institutions
Bringing spiritual restitution
To all mankind

The Master He gave
To hold His banner
Guiding all through
His kind manner
Uniting east with west
Illuminating what,
they have best
guiding, directing,
knowing no rest

From two great branches
He did come
The Guardian, the Masters
Chosen one
A bridge between now and then
Overcoming tests again and again
Bringing to fruition
Those glorious Institutions
Promised by
the Blessed Beauty

Upon God’s holy mountain
That great House stands
And like a fountain
Showers all with love and guidance
Plan after plan unfold
Bringing the healing message
to hosts untold
causing all to become bold
in obeying His will
For a thousand years
And to that time
In unbroken line
We stand in service
To all mankind
A living testament
To that mighty
Covenant
shiidon, September 2007

Twilight

Yesterday was labor day in the United States. On this day the boys and i were invited to some friends house. At this house there were two elder members of the family, one a great-grandmother and one a grandmother who is visiting. The site that this poem describes brought tears to several, including the author, who witnessed the sudden recognition of one to the other.
The feeling begged to be described. The following is my attempt to convey the feelings of that moment of love.


Twilight

In the twilight years
At a gathering she sat
Surrounded by family
And those held dear
Minutes go by
Recognition denied
When of a sudden
From across the room
A friend she spied

With arms outreached
And joy filled eyes
Animated spirits
The embrace alive

Not knowing if one
Would see the other
The feelings expressed
one to the other
The image a token
Of the love still fresh
Regardless of the years
The spirit refreshed

As the embrace went on
The tears poured on
From the loved ones blessed
To see the site
Of two old friends
And how they reunite
shiidon, September 2007