Bazm-e-Anjum

The Assembly of Stars

As the sun departed, it struck the black-robed evening, Pelting it with tulips from the platter of the horizon. The twilight adorned her with jewels of pure gold, While Nature removed all her ornaments of silver.

In the palanquin of silence, the dark maiden of the night arrived, And the lovely pearls of the Bride of the Night began to shine. Those who dwell far from the world’s great tumult, Whom humanity, in its own tongue, calls 'the stars.'

The celestial assembly was absorbed in illuminating the heavens, When from the Highest Heaven came the voice of an angel: “O guardians of the night, O stars of the sky, Your entire nation, dwelling in the firmament, is luminous!

“Strike up such a melody that the sleepers may awaken; The light of your brows is a guide for caravans. The people of the Earth know you as the mirrors of their fates; Perhaps they will finally hear your voices.”

Silence departed from the star-filled atmosphere; The vastness of the sky was filled with that new sound. “Eternal Beauty is revealed in the charm of the stars, Like the reflection of a rose in the mirror of a dewdrop.

“To fear the new decree, to cling to ancient customs— This is the most difficult stage in the life of nations. This Caravan of Existence moves at such a swift pace That nations have been crushed in its relentless flow.

“Thousands of stars are hidden from our eyes, Yet they too are included in our brotherhood. The people of the Earth could not grasp in a lifetime The truth that we have found in our brief existence.

“By the Law of Mutual Attraction are all systems sustained; This is the secret hidden in the life of the stars.”