Arts Dialogue : Bahá´í Association for the Arts

O Nightingales by Bahá'u'lláh

A poetic rendition from the Persian by Juan R.I. Cole, U.S.A.
(Note: this is an unauthorized translation.)

Nightingales,
O nightingales!
The season of roses,
the blooming time . . .
is here.

Mystics,
O mystics!
What you could
not see,
now you can.

Lovers,
O lovers!
The adored one's
cheek is in
full view.

Seekers,
O seekers!
The object of desire
is before
your eyes.

The beauty of
the Eternal Truth
has dawned;
the lights of
the Absolute
have shone.
You must be
freed from the body's
jail,
so that you can soar
into the
air.

The beloved,
seated, veiled--
the great king
of the exalted
spheres--

now, like Joseph
in Egypt,
frequents
alleyways and
bazaars!

The Unseen One
was concealed
behind a hundred
eons
on the Mount Qaf
of immortality--

Now look, what a sun in
the sky there is;
night has retreated
from the hills.

The wholesale bazaar
of lovers
has been scattered
by your
perfumed locks

And because of your
lips--sugar rubies--
everything
smells like
a confectioner's shop.

The wine has
matured in its jugs;
reason and
intellect
are left
bewildered

When the chalice of God
was filled to the brim
everyone rushed to
imbibe
this
deadly
poison!

Juan Cole

translator, middle eastern studies, U.S.A.