beneath all passing shows

The pilgrim sees no form but His and knows

That He subsists beneath all passing shows --

The pilgrim comes from Him whom he can see,

Lives in Him, with Him, and beyond all three.

Be lost in Unity's inclusive span,

Or you are human but not yet a man.

Whoever lives, the wicked and the blessed,

Contains a hidden sun within his breast --

Its light must dawn though dogged by long delay;

The clouds that veil it must be torn away --

Whoever reaches to his hidden sun

Surpasses good and bad and knows the One.

The good and bad are here while you are here;

Surpass yourself and they will disappear.

~ Farid ud-Din Attar (1120? - 1220?)

from The Conference of the Birds

English version by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis