Poetry: Faezeh Azizi
How harsh the stroke that severs love’s domain,
When he is gone who held my heart’s refrain!
My soul’s true pillar and my steadfast guide,
No peace remains where shadows now reside.
Now Autumn comes, a mirror of his grace,
And sheds its golden tears across this place;
In silent grief the falling leaves descend,
To mourn the noble father and the friend.
No longer do the verdant branches sing,
Nor fruit nor blossom yields the barren Spring;
The weary clouds no gentle rains bestow,
As though their boundless springs forgot to flow.
The morning sun rises in darkened skies,
And like a solemn sunset seems to rise;
The crimson dusk bringing no sweet relief,
While daylight fades beneath a veil of grief.
High in the vault of heaven, the moon appears,
Yet holds no light through all these lonely years—
A hollow orb where radiant glory fled,
A silent witness to the tears I shed.
The river dries, its joyous song is o’er,
No swaying trees adorn its silent shore;
And if a songbird wakes the quiet grove,
It sings a dirge of loss for him I love.
O Lord Almighty! Grant my father grace,
And fold his spirit in Thy sweet embrace;
Pour down Thy mercy, beautiful and vast,
And pardon every shadow of the past.
Assign his soul a high and blessed realm,
Where sorrow nevermore shall overwhelm;
Among the righteous and the prophets dwell,
In heavenly peace where divine praises swell.
And when my earthly pilgrimage is through,
Unite our souls beneath Thy skies anew;
In high Firdaus, upon that holy shore,
To rest together, saved, for evermore.
