The burning orb of the East
Is our honored guest tonight
And the bright moon in this feast
With us will rest tonight.
Alert, vicious, stressed
Heavens dissolve and arrest
The fields of final rest
Our final test tonight.
Clap your hands in surprise
Excited, with us rise
Dance in our enterprise
While at our best tonight.
O sweet singer of love
Tell us the secrets of love
Ecstatic music from above
Is our quest tonight.
Like a lion brave the way
Not like a fox run away,
Wheel of Fortune as we pray
Our lives has blest tonight.
Like new grapes be not sour
Be sweet like nectar and flower
In sugar and candy this hour
We will invest tonight.
The shining jewel that we sought
For which the whole world we fought
Is in our own nest tonight
In our treasure chest tonight.
If you ask Shams-e Tabriz
The reasons that are all his
Union in his breast tonight
At His behest tonight.
Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Los Angeles, CA
July 24, 1999