The Parliament of Birds

The hoopoe, as their chief, was hailed and crowned --
Huge flocks of birds in homage gathered round;
A hundred thousand birds assembled there,
Making a monstrous shadow in the air.
The throng set out -- but, clearing the first dune,
Their leader sent a cry up to the moon
And panic spread among the birds; they feared
The endless desolation which appeared.
They clung together in a huddling crowd,
Drew in their heads and wings and wailed aloud
A melancholy, weak, faint-hearted song --
Their burdens were too great, the way too long!
How featureless the view before their eyes,
An emptiness where they could recognise
No marks of good or ill -- a silence where
The soul knew neither hope nor blank despair.
One said, "The Way is lifeless, empty -- why?"
To which the hoopoe gave this strange reply:
"To glorify the king.

One moonlit night
Sheikh Bayazid, attracted by the sight
Of such refulgent brilliance, clear as day,
Across the sleeping city took his way
And thence into the desert, where he saw
Unnumbered starts adorning heaven's floor.
He walked a little and became aware
That not a sound disturbed the desert air,
That no one moved in that immensity
Save him. His heart grew numb and gradually
Pure terror touched him. 'O great God,' he cried,
'Your dazzling palace beckons far and wide --
Where are the courtiers who should throng this court?'
A voice said: 'Wanderer, you are distraught;
Be calm. Our glorious King cannot admit
All comers to His court; it is not fit
That every rascal who sleeps out the night
Should be allowed to glimpse its radiant light.
Most are turned back, and few perceive the throne;
Among a hundred thousand there is one'."