DREAMER-OF-THE-AGE

'Twas in old Tehran City,

Hard by the old bazaar,

I heard a restless ditty

That pushed my door ajar;

A song nor great nor witty,

It spoke of my own mind.

I looked on Tehran City,

And knew I had been blind,

Or else the streets were altered

As by a peri's wand.

"Who are you, friends?" I faltered.

"The Pilgrims of Beyond,"

They said. I kissed the tatters

That wiser heads contemn.

I saw the Thing-that-matters,

And took the road with them.

I seek. Bestow no pity

On Failure's courtier. Say:

"'Twas well to find the city,

But that was yesterday."