Melting Snow

Midweek Reflection on The Wayfarer's Journey

‘Idál (Justice), 14 ‘Aẓamat (Grandeur) 175 B.E. - Wednesday, May 30, 2018

In 2017, I wrote "Wayfarer's Journey"  in "Bicentenary Poems and Prose" . It was one of the 200 poems I wrote in celebration of the 200^th anniversary of the Birth of Baha'u'llah. Recently, in going through my desk drawers, I found another with the same title. While both poems were inspired by The Seven Valleys revealed by Baha'u'llah, each poem takes a different approach. The poem in "Bicentenary Poems and Prose"  was the results of meditating on a blog prompt, which can be found in "Wildcard Thursday: The Wayfarer's Journey" . The poem, I recently found, was written sometime in 152 B.E. This poem was inspired when I first read the book. This poem is longer, and more involved then the the poem I wrote in 174 B.E., which was late in 2017.

"The stages that mark the wayfarer's journey from the abode of dust to the heavenly home are said to be seven. Some have called these Seven Valleys, and others, Seven Cities..."

Baha'u'llah1

The Wayfarer's Journey:
A Metaphor

Stone on stone foundations were laid,
and citadel constructed:
         Seven cities lead to certitude;
         Seven Valleys perfection.

Exiting self,
the Wayfarer traverses
the stages of certitude;
through valleys deep and city streets,
ascending by degrees perfection.

Into the Valley of Search,
the Wayfarer rides
astride the steed of patience:
         Seeking high and low;
         Seeking far and wide;
the Point of Adoration.

Inhaling the fragrance of the Friend,
the Seeker is dissolved in the blaze of love.

Into the Valley of Love,
the Wayfarer rides
astride the steed of pain:
         Blind to both doubt and certitude;
         Blind to ignorance and knowledge;
the Lover fears nothing.

By the favor of God,
the Lover is freed
from the talons of the eagle of love.

Into the Valley of Knowledge,
the Wayfarer strides
content with God's injunction.

Perceiving,
with both spiritual and physical eyes,
the secrets of of resurrection
         In the universe,
         In the unending Manifestations of God;
the Traveler recognizes divine wisdom.

Advancing beyond the planes of limitations,
the Wayfarer descends
into the Valley of Unity.

Penetrating the shrouds of plurality:
         To see with the eye of God;
         To hear with the ear of God;
the Wanderer comprehends that the varieties witnessed
in the phases of the journey
emanate from personal perceptions.

Entering the Valley of Contentment,
the Wayfarer experiences
the breezes of divine happiness
blowing from spiritual realms.

Burning the veils of desire,
the Wanderer sees the entire creation
compensated out of God's abundance:
         Depression changes into ecstasy;
         Unhappiness succumbs to rapture.

Entering the Valley of Wonderment,
the Wayfarer's awe increases exponentially.

Thrown into confusion,
the Traveler continually witnesses
new Phenomena:
         God's beauty causes speechlessness;
         God's works causes astonishment;
pondering humanity,
the Wanderer perceives the universe within.

Entering the Valley of true Poverty and Absolute Nothingness,
the Wayfarer dies
and is reborn in God.

In this station
the Seeker is sanctified
from everything that decomposes:
         Here the Wanderer lives on the plane of certitude;
         Here the Wayfarer hears the song of perfection.

Through out this journey
the Wayfarer never departs
from the law of God.

Obedient to the commandments of the Almighty,
the Traveler
shuns everything forbidden:
         Is nourished from the goblet of law;
         Is acquainted with the secrets of truth;
and soars in the heaven of certitude.

In copying this, I changed a few words and lines. I don't think I will do any more rewriting on this; at least, nor for a while. I'll have to reread it a couple of more times before making a decision on a rewrite.

Footnotes
1  The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys page 4.