He was a wild youth, his heart of cold granite stone.
Yet when the story was told, the granite heart turned into gold.
He found a new truth, his lonely eyes as they shone
Were filled with tears as he grew near Baha’u’llah.

O my Beloved now I see, that my desire must ever be
To live my life in praise of Thee, say Allah’u’abha!
O nightingale, I must now rise and wing my flight across the skies
To Sheba where my loved one lies, Ya Baha’ul-Abha!

He made a journey across the fields and the plains
To where the goal of his life, waited in patience to give to the dove
A gift of glory that he might rise once again.
And wing his flight into the night to serve his Lord.

O nightingale, I hear Thy call, a captive, I stand enthralled
And watch the stars of heaven fall, by a single word.
O my Beloved make me strong to guard this gift that made me long
to sing the words of this wondrous song, Ya Baha’ul-Abha!

Across the mountains, he called king Solomon’s name
A gift from Sheba I bring, a weighty message, o king.
The people seized him, cast him in fetters and chains
Said for his love this lonely dove must surely die.

O people, will you never see, that your threats cannot frighten me.
I long to die, I long to be in the realms on high.
O Shah, you howl these words in vain, at one who rides the steed of pain
A martyr to the Greatest Name, Ya Baha’ul-Abha!
It was a wise man who cried in horror and fear.
They say to brand this young one, beat him so justice is done.
How can I beat him, this child of seventeen years?
And yet I must, but it’s not justice that I see.

O my Beloved, I fear his cries, remove the veils that blind his eyes
Thy justice now I realize, is not meant for me
O Lord of Bounty, show him how, this gift that’s branded on my brow
is sweeter that thy justice now, Ya Baha’ul-Abha!

However cruel his death may be, the world remembers young Badi
The pride of martyrs, now we say, say Allah’u’abha
For how many voices now proclaim, Ya Baha’ul-Abha!

(This is the story of a brave youth and his spiritual transformation into a new creation at a time when he completely understood who his, and the Beloved of the world, was.
I dedicate this song to my uncle, aunt and cousins and their families in Iran,
and to the beloved Baha’i youth in Iran, whose steadfastness and devotion in the face of daily persecution is mirrored in this story.
May you soon be free to follow your dreams and fulfill your potential.)