Bicentenary Poems and Prose

Role Model: To 'Abdu'l-Baha

Role Model:
To 'Abdu'l-Baha

Inspired by The Extraordinary Life of Abdu’l-Baha  Violetta Zein

How can I do justice
to this extraordinary human being?

A few stanzas and lines
cannot reveal the essence
of the man,
who is the role model
for every Baha'i on Earth.

Shoghi Effendi--
the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith--
referred to him as “the perfect Exemplar of [Baha’u’llah’s] teachings”
and “the embodiment of every Baha’i ideal, the incarnation of every Baha’i virtue …”1

I meditate
on 'Abdu'l-Baha's words and actions,
as they reverberate across the decades
encouraging us
to reform our own thoughts and actions
in our efforts to proclaim
the Greatest Name2.

Poet's Note: ▼

This is poem #96 of the 100 poems I am writing for the Centenary of the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha.

Footnotes
1  Quoted in The Extraordinary Life of Abdu’l-Baha Violetta Zein https://bahaiteachings.org/the-extraordinary-life-of-abdul-baha/.
2  One of Baha'u'llah's titles.