Attar's Pen

To credit myself in attainment and success,
And to fault another for failure and dishonor,
This is not the Way.

To credit others for attainment and success,
And to fault myself for failure and dishonor,
Is a single step along the Way.

To be unmoved by attainment and success,
And untroubled by failure and dishonor,
Is the second step along the Way.

Who can speak of that third self-annihilating step?
If you possess the lion's courage, you are still a coward on this road.

I slept in a palace and woke to find myself in a ruin.
I dreamt of the houri and woke to find myself alone.

And from Attar's pen I heard that Voice,
"You are rejected by Us, depart from this door;
You are unworthy of Us."