Mr. Hezari

MR HEZARI

There is among us

From time to time

A hidden jewel

A soul sublime

This knight of Glory

Was such a gem

A life of service

His story

One of the first

To answer the call

To travel abroad

And to sacrifice all

He, with deep humility

Blazed an example

Of how to be

And his legacy

To be enshrined with his Beloved

For all eternity

His kindness and softness of heart

Is what

In so many ways

Set him apart

Nary a soul

Could be found

To match his knowledge, profound

Oh dear one

You’ve gone ahead

Continuing to pave

The path we’ll tread

Your soft voice lingers

In my heart

As you from this world

Do depart

A sea of love

You leave behind

For to each and every person

You were kind

In my heart

There remains a trace

Of the love,

In your embrace

You did show so many

On how to live

In the way of yourself

You did give

I am honored

To have called you friend

In your certitude

My heart you doth mend

In the deepest of trials

You did not bend

How appropriate

It should be

That a man of such, humility

Should be recalled

Again and again in history

But for now to those around

A hidden mystery

-Shiidon, June 2010

This poem was written in memory of Mr. Manouchehr Hezari. Mr. Hezari was a Bahá'í pioneer to the country of Morocco. He was given the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh by the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi. I have known Mr. Hezari and his family for many years. I had the honor of serving with him on the Spiritual Assembly of Austin for a number of years. He was a gentle soul and the embodiment of humility. He set an example that I try, to this day, to follow in many ways. His kind heart was always open and his smile was always warm. I will miss him dearly but am certain that when my time comes to move on to the next reality, he will be there to ease the passage. I love and miss him dearly.

The Journey of Life

THE JOURNEY OF LIFE

When we are young

The world we see

So large, infinite

In wonderment

On what to be

Joy and pain

And full of questioning

When with this new world

We come, to a reckoning

Everyone works together

Hand in hand

And in our mind

From land to land

A little older

We doth grow

And a little more

We doth know

The world, still

A place of wonder

Into more learning

Do we blunder

We begin to see

That not all around

Is as perfect

And sound

And suffering and pain

Can be found

And yet, we plod around

With awe

Still mostly

Find little to flaw

And yet older again

Ourselves we find

And knowledge increases

In kind

The flaws are many

The world we know

In some respect

Is not as perfect

As we did expect

The pain and inhumanity

Becomes more clear

And those we love

We draw more near

And for the future

We begin to fear

Determined we become

To make a change

And the possible options

Are many in range

It is at this time

And this is strange

That from our loved ones

We grow, somewhat estranged

We will not

The mistakes repeat

Our determination, concrete

Nothing impossible, no feat

And then again

Older we become

Working through life

On our own

And turning our attention

To survival and life

Taking a husband or wife

And starting a family

Slipping to the back

Our desired intention

The mistakes of

Generations before

Are not as much in focus

As they were before

We begin to change

In one aspect

For those before us

A new found respect

We look at our young

And see our past

Hoping for them

There innocence

Will long last

“Oh why can’t we deviate

From the past”

Tis hard to fathom, alas

Make the changes

That will give them hope

But time draws to a close

And our end comes fast

We work hard to pass on

The learning we’ve gained

From tests overcome

Hoping these mistakes

Will not repeat

And in some great feat

The new ones will learn

And a step closer to hope

They will earn

The need to pass it on, doth burn

Then a time comes

When we step back

And watch and hope

As our little ones cope

And see life in a new scope

Reflecting and clinging to

Life’s hope

Connecting one generation

To the other

Mother, father, son and daughter

Then the day comes

When our children

Have little ones

Of their own

And they create

A new definition

Of home

We begin to see time

With new meaning

Truly endless

Or at least seeming

And it won’t be long

Before they only see us

When they are dreaming

As these years, have come and gone

The more together

Do we all belong

There is clearly a future

So bright and new

Though only

Through our minds eye

This world

Can now be viewed

I roll up my sleeves

And do what I can

For now is the time

When I can focus

On the Plan

The joy and wonder

That came

When I was so small

Is no longer so hard

To recall

The magic that surrounds

Knows no bounds

We have but

To open our eyes

And a clear path

We can spy

One hard, to deny

We no longer

For ourselves fear

Nor for those

We draw near

For each and every soul

To us is dear

And oneness

Is blatantly clear

I look forward

To this next stage of life

Of new tests and challenges

I am certain

Many, rife

But such is life

I do not fear the end

I fear to His will

I will not bend

A life of mistakes

To learn from and mend

A message to the future

I wish to send

…..do not forget

And do not regret

We worked hard

Step by step

So as to bring into being

A future that

Has much meaning

Spiritual, no longer demeaning

Of my future

Tis not yet written

But diving into it

With life’s joys, I am smitten

And in reality

I do not care

For my love for all

Is what I am aware

-Shiidon, June 2010

This poem has taken a week to float to the surface. I think of how it was to live in a world of perfection, or seemingly so. Then, while living in Bangladesh, seeing suffering, true and severe suffering for the first time. It opened my eyes to much in the world. Then the changes that come as we get older and the things that take up our time and attention. Finally I write from that place where I find myself now. I know that in the future there will be a new perspective for me to reflect on, but for now this is the reality that I find myself in. I believe that there is much suffering now in the world. I also believe that we are building, generation by generation, a world that will be unlike any of us can imagine. One that has removed the suffering that we impose on each other and ourselves knowingly. The golden age of mankind, if you will. I am certain that it will come to pass, though we have much to learn from before we reach that time.

Lamentation

LAMENTATION

Over the years

I've shed many a tear

And there’s more to come

I fear

We live in two worlds

The one we approach

Real

The one we are in

Surreal

For some time

I have found

Myself living

In the world

Sublime

I see the shadows

Dance around

As these fleeting bodies

Doth me surround

Ti’s hard to live

In a world unknown

When all I know

Is the world I've grown

I retreat

To the world on high

As I withdraw

In my mind’s eye

Tis a salve that sooths

And through challenges

I doth move

But it would seem

In this world of dream

That I find myself

Alone, I doth gleam

When sorrows fall

Like heavy rains

And the seemingly

Unbearable pain

I bear it alone

All the same

The joys are few

And far between

And fleeting as in a dream

I know not why

This is my fate

Or where I’m going

At any rate

A goal I see ahead

Towards which

I steadfastly tread

Then of a sudden

Deflected away

Instead

Of never attaining the goal

I dread

Are the targets I see

Truly where I’m to be

Or are they lessons

From which to learn

And some mysterious

Objective to earn

For nigh half a century

I have charged on

Obediently following

Towards what

I know not

Of those few years

I have forgot

After a while

The rain becomes norm

And I move

Form storm to storm

Losing hope in my salvation

For t'is this revelation

I would not trade

One moment of grief

For the mirage of relief

For t'is in these storms

That we doth grow

And ti’s this I truly know

These are all truths

It would stand to reason

Turning away

Would be treason

The knowing of this

Doth bring bliss

The embrace of the pain

Like a near fatal kiss

One day I may know why

In this life or

When I die

I think of this and sigh

Will I know peace or

Of it be denied

I am grateful

Of this life of mine

I would trade it not

For one more fine

I am thankful for that

Which You doth ordain

Your faithful servant

I do remain

Where am I to be

Is there someone for me

And am I to be here

Or beyond the sea

T’s true through tests

We achieve our best

But this is a self-deluding ploy

In hopes of fleeting joy

We are preparing for

The world to come

The world eternal

Were our potential

We become

The world of eternity

Is where I want to be

Though I fear

Many a year

Must lapse

Before that world

I’ll see

The things of this earth

With me have no berth

For t’is only character doth grow

And in time

Our true selves

Doth show

So I trod on

Alone for now

Through pain, advancing forward

Though I know not how

No other way

Do I know how to be

As I reach out

To my destiny

-Shiidon, June 2010

There are two quotes that arise when thinking about this poem. The first I read every day and have for over five years. The second my father sent to me last week after he read the poem. I think this time, the poem is self explanatory. The key words to me are being content with His pleasure and thankful for what He hath ordained.

O SON OF BEING!

Seek a martyr's death in My path, content with My pleasure and thankful for that which I ordain, that thou mayest repose with Me beneath the canopy of majesty behind the tabernacle of glory.

(Bahá'u'lláh: Arabic Hidden Words #45)

The more difficulties one sees in the world the more perfect one becomes. The more you plough and dig the ground the more fertile it becomes. The more you cut the branches of a tree the higher and stronger it grows. The more you put the gold in the fire the purer it becomes. The more you sharpen the steel by grinding the better it cuts. Therefore, the more sorrows one sees the more perfect one becomes. That is why, in all times, the Prophets of God have had tribulations and difficulties to withstand. The more often the captain of a ship is in the tempest and difficult sailing the greater his knowledge becomes. Therefore I am happy that you have had great tribulations and difficulties. For this I am very happy -- that you have had many sorrows. Strange it is that I love you and still I am happy that you have sorrows.

'Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. 14, no. 2, p. 41.

Treading Water

TREADING WATER

I sit at home

All alone

And reflect

In this respect…

Time marches on

The young ones

For the most part

Gone

I sit and wait

Not knowing my fate

The anxiety

Will not abate

Around me signs

Are prevalent

A constant reminder

That will not relent

Change is here

Of that I am clear

The decision on how

Is drawing near

Either way

A subtle fear

At times I seek

To another speak

Or to dream

Of what would seem

To be my desire

But to His will

Is what I aspire

I catch myself

Holding breath

The range of emotions

Have wide breadth

There is a peace

That comes along

As time seems

To go on and on

The lessons to be learned

Are firmly to

My spirit burned

Patience I learn anew

To a greater level

Than I knew

What else

Is one to do?

For now I carry on

The daily routine

And of other worlds

Do I dream

Waiting

Alone

-Shiidon, June 2010

Many times we find ourselves in a place where decisions are being made for us and there is nothing we can do but wait and pray. Just when we think we have learned patience, we are tested beyond our new limits. Once we have reached that level, we are tested to those limits. We are stretching our wings and developing our muscles so that one day we can soar in the atmosphere of the on high. At times like this we reach out and attempt to receive solace from loved ones. We reach out and look for signs of any kind that will direct us towards our desired outcome. But in the end, it is self reflective attention that is needed. As Bahá'u'lláh says in the Seven Valleys, we see the beginning in the end, war in peace and so forth. Life is a journey fraught full of tests and difficulties. The joy is in the learning and the growth of our soul through these tests and difficulties.