Bicentenary Poems and Prose

Steadfastness: To The Bab's Orange Tree

Steadfastness:
To The Bab's Orange Tree1

Before its destruction,
pilgrimages from across the planet
visited this courtyard.

They paused
at the orange tree,
picked an orange,
consumed its sweet essence,
and put the seeds
in their pockets or purses.

Now
seed by seed
its descendants
teach the faith,
and proclaim
the Birth of the Bab.

Poet's Note: ▼

This is poem 111 of the 200 I am writing to celebrate the Bicentenary of the Birth of The Bab. This is the second poem I've written on this subject (entry:934567}. This refers to a story a friend, who had visited the House of the Bab before its was destroyed, tole me.

Footnotes
1  In 1979 the Revolutionary Guard destroyed the house of the Bab and uprooted the orange tree.