Bicentenary Poems and Prose

The Eastern Gate: To The Bab

The Eastern Gate:
To The Bab

"1. Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
2. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
3. And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.
4. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
5. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house."

Ezekiel 43:1-5

He is the gate through which God's Glory came!
The one who prepared the soil of the human spirit
for the arrival of a new heaven and earth,
and the forerunner of Baha'u'llah,

His shrine now stands
half way up God's holy mountain
proclaiming to humanity
that a new day has dawned,
and inviting nonbelievers to investigate
both His claim and the claim of Baha'u'u'llah.

Poet's Note: ▼

This is poem 96 of the 200 I am writing to celebrate the Bicentenary of the Birth of The Bab.