Let go of deceptions O heart
Madness embrace, madness embrace
Moth-like, go to the heart of the hearth
        Fire face, fire face

Make yourself a stranger
Turn your home to a manger
With the lovers of this danger
        Cohabitate in one place, in one place

Open your heart like a tray
Vengeance wash away and pray
The wine of love, when down you lay
        Your cup grace, your cup grace

You must become wholly a soul
To be worthy of the Divine Whole
If with the drunk you play your role
        Drinking chase, drinking chase

The bead from the ear-ring
With cheek will speak and sing
If cheek and ear you seek and cling
        Mother-of-pearl make your space

When your soul flies easy
From this, our sweet fantasy
Like lovers in mortal ecstasy
        Your story trace, your story trace

Go from this night of the grave
And the Divine Night brave
And like Divine, spirit crave
        Make that your base, make that your base

Your mind will first imagine
Then will draw you therein
Trade mind and fate in your within
        Onward race, onward race

A lock with an invisible bar
Enchains our hearts, keeps us afar
Become the key, the key you are
        Like saw teeth brace, brace!

Lovers their wine draw
From cup of skull with bone straw
In such a feast obey the law
        Yourself efface, yourself efface.

To call this "accident" or "chance"
Puts your essence out of balance
In your earthly reign & kingly dance
        Choose staff or mace, staff or mace!

Christ graced the wooden cross
Cross’s gain was our loss
Such compassion cannot emboss
        On wooden vase, on wooden vase.

Solomon spoke of right & wrong
In the birds’ language & tongue
Soul’s bird to body’s trap don’t belong
        Bird is your ace, bird is your ace.

If graced with Beloved’s affection
Like a mirror become reflection
If naked made such selection
        Wrap in lace, wrap in lace.

How long crisscross like the rook?
Or like a pawn easily forsook?
Like a queen, obliquely look?
        Straighten pace, straighten pace.

To love you gave with much pleasure
Every earthly weal and treasure
Forget treasure, yourself measure
        For love’s case, for love’s case.

For sometime were mineral
Some other time were animal
Then human-like, erect & tall
        Soul don’t debase, soul don’t debase.

O tongue may you become still
Not with speech egos fulfill
Spirit leaves tongue null and nil
        No more disgrace, and nor deface.

O Shams-e Tabrizi come near
In my soul your place is dear
O King, my soul to joy steer
        With regal grace, with regal grace!

Ó Shahriar Shahriari
Vancouver, Canada
July 21 & October 21, 1998