Those terrible chains

Those chains!
Those terrible chains!
Infamous are their names!

Incarcerated
in the vermin infested darkness,
with his feet in stocks
and 112 lb. Qará-Guhar or,
its cohort, Salásil around his neck,
he waited
one of 150 innocent men
whose only crime was firmness of faith
and steadfastness
in their chosen spiritual path.

Four months
Baha’u’llah endured the chill of that lightless dungeon,
while day-by-day
the name of one of his companions was called;
released from shackles,
the person called would leap to his feet,
and chant God’s praise
as he danced to meet his executioners.