If I Should Gaze Upon Your Face
by Tahirih
If I should gaze upon your face
And our eyes meet, yours and mine,
I would recount my sorrows then —
Trace each point, each verse, each line.
Oh how I yearn to see your face!
... (continued)
If I should gaze upon your face
And our eyes meet, yours and mine,
I would recount my sorrows then —
Trace each point, each verse, each line.
Oh how I yearn to see your face!
... (continued)
Like other teenagers I dreamed of going to a respected university, getting a degree that is valued in my country, and finding a good job. Because I am a Bahá’í living in Iran, I knew it would not be easy, but whenever I wavered, I heard my mother’s voice echoing in my mind, “Embracing hardship gladly will bring sweet fruit in the end.” . . .
... (continued)
The trees of the eastern forest,
ash, oak, sugar maple,
bend with the wind,
their leaves catch the Gregorian chants
from the morning’s mass.
... (continued)
Congratulations and thank you for this garden. This oasis. This temple. It has lifted my spirit.
— Patricia Ranzoni, Maine poet and Bucksport Poet Laureate
In her essay, Sahba captures the spirit and voice of one more soul whose potential has been muted (hopefully just for a time) by the profound forces of time, place and humanity’s baser nature. Thank you for helping the Sahbas of the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education in Iran develop and share their voices beyond the confines of their current circumstances.
— Stephen Karnik, Chief Administrative Officer Bahá’í International Community, New York
A copy of e*lix*ir just came up on my computer screen.... A sense of the future arts came into my heart, and I am silenced. Oh my stars, we have begun!
— Esther Bradley-DeTally, Author of Without a Net: A Sojourn in Russia
I am writing to say that Issue #3 of e*lix*ir has moved me deeply. I felt transported ... by a wide range of emotions, from gratitude to humility.
— Allison Grover Khoury, Children's and YA Editor and Blogger