| An aged man, his beard
white as snow, |
| having expended many
years upon science and wisdom, |
| keen of eye like the
Western sages, |
| his raiment like the
robes of a Christian monk, |
| far on in years, yet
tall of stature as a cypress, |
1865 |
| his features glowing
like a Turk of Merv, |
| well-versed in the wont
and way of every road, |
| the deep thoughts
evident in his eyes, |
| seeing a man
approaching, he opened like a flower |
| and spoke in the tongue
of Tusi and Khayyam. |
1870 |
| ‘A form of clay,
prisoner to Quantity and Quality, |
| has come forth from the
abode of Under and Over, |
| given flight to earth
without aid of aircraft, |
| lent to the fixed stars
the essence of the planet!’ |
| His speech and
comprehension flowed like a river; |
1875 |
| I was lost in
stupefaction at his words: |
| is this all a dream, or
a trick of magic? |
| Pure Persian proceeding
from a Martian’s lips! |
| He continued: ‘In
the time of the Chosen One |
| there was a Martian, a
man pure of soul, |
1880 |
| who opened his
world-beholding eyes on your world |
| and set his heart on
travelling the confines of man. |
| He spread his wings in
the vast expanses of being |
| until he alighted in
the desert of Hejaz. |
| He wrote down all that
he saw in East and West, |
1885 |
| his picture more
colourful than the Garden of Paradise. |
| I too have been in Iran
and Europe, |
| I have travelled in the
realms of Nile and Ganges, |
| I have seen America and
Japan and China, |
| investigating the
metals of the earth. |
1890 |
| I have knowledge of
earth’s nights and days, |
| I have journeyed
through its lands and seas. |
| The tumults of
Adam’s sons are open before me, |
| though man is not
intimate with our labours.’ |
| I am of the skies, my
companion is of the earth, |
1895 |
| intoxicated, yet he has
not tasted the veins of the vine; |
| a man intrepid, his
name is Zinda-Rud, |
| his drunkenness derived
from contemplating existence. |
| We who have chanced
thus upon your city |
| are in the world, yet
free from the world. |
1900 |
| In our quest for ever
new apparitions |
| be our companion on the
road for a little time. |
| These are the environs
of Marghadin of Barkhiya— |
| Barkhiya is the name of
our ancestor. |
| Farzmarz, the tempter
to all evil, |
1905 |
| came up to Barkhiya
once in Paradise; |
| ‘How can you
remain here content?’ he cried. |
| ‘For many ages you
have been dominated by God. |
| There is a world far
better than your abode, |
| compared with which
Paradise itself is but a moment’s springtide; |
1910 |
| that world is loftier
than all other worlds, |
| that world is more
sublime than spacelessness. |
| God Himself knows
nothing of that world; |
| I have never seen a
world more free. |
| God does not interfere
in its ordering, |
1915 |
| it has no Book, no
Prophet, no Gabriel, |
| no circumambulations,
no prostrations there, |
| no prayers, no
thanksgivings.’ |
| Barkhiya replied,
‘Depart, you sorcerer, |
| pour your own image
upon that world!’ |
1920 |
| Since our ancestor did
not succumb to his guile |
| God entrusted to us
another world. |
| So enter this God-given
kingdom; |
| behold Marghadin and
its laws and customs. |