Bicentenary Poems and Prose

Reflections on The Seven Valleys

Reflections on The Seven Valleys:
To The Blessed Beauty

Stone on stone foundations were laid,
citadels constructed:
         Seven cities lead to certitude;
         Seven valleys perfection.

Exiting self,
the Seeker traverses,
the stages of salvation,
though valleys deep and city streets,
ascending degrees of transcendence.

Into the Valley of Search,
the Seeker rides
astride the steed of patience;
         looking high and low;
         looking far and wide;
for the Point of Adoration.

Inhaling the fragrance of the Friend,
the Seeker
dissolves in the blaze of love.

Through the Valley of Love,
riding the steed of pain,
the Seeker--
         blind to both doubt and certitude;
         blind to ignorance and knowledge--
fears nothing.

By God's favor,
the seeking Lover is freed
from the talons of the eagle of love.

Into the Valley of Knowledge,
the seeking Wayfarer strides,
satisfied with the injunction of God.

With both inward and outward eyes,
the Traveler recognizes--
         in the universe,
         and the never-ending Manifestations of God--
divine wisdom.

Moving beyond the planes of limitations,
the wandering Wayfarer
descends into the Valley of Unity.

Here the Wander penetrates the shrouds of multiplicity
         to see with the eyes of God,
         to hear with the ears of God
and comprehend the varieties of the journey
that emanate from personal perceptions.

Entering the Valley of Contentment,
the wayfarer experiences
the breezes of divine happiness
blowing from paradise.

Burning the veils of desire,
the Wayfarer sees all creation
compensated out of God's abundance:
         depression changes to ecstasy;
         unhappiness succumbs to rapture.

In the Valley of Wonderment,
the Traveler's awe
increase exponentially,
as new phenomena are witnessed
at every turn,
and the Wayfarer is struck speechless
         through the beauty of God.

In the Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness,
the Wayfarer dies to self
and is reborn in God.

In this station,
the wayfaring Seeker
is sanctified from everything that decomposes:
         living on the plane of certitude,
         and hearing the songs of perfection.

Throughout this journey,
the Wayfarer can never depart
from the Law of God.

Obedient to the commandments of God,
the Traveler
shuns everything forbidden:
         is nourished from the Law,
         is acquainted with Truth's secrets,
and flies in the heaven of certitude.

Poet's Note: ▼

This is Poem 102 of 200 Dedicated to The Blessed Beauty.