The Veil
A Veil was discovered,
in the year, one thousand nine hundred thirty six.
Buried deep in the ground,
like the Sphinx.
Men gathered, surrounded it.
Around the Veil, tents were built.
Most men were illiterate,
but also others came,
with high credentials in hand, not too late.
Discussed its stature,
many issues were raised.
Merits of it, its message,
its effect on the future of the land,
were parleyed
Some advocated, somehow, activating the Veil,
without exactly knowing what it would entail.
Tried to find a button, a thread,
or, to discover a hole to peek through.
Some wondered without a clue,
A few men packed and fled.
Yet others were more cautious,
did not want to start a catastrophic event,
Recited words of God to calm the nerves,
“If The Divine wanted its true nature to be known,
whatever this Veil is, would not have been covered,”
warned an elderly clergy man.
“Investigate and approach with caution,
better yet, post a sign, ‘Do Not Touch’,
or, gaze, nudge, peck,
pull, push, stretch, stroke, or fondle.
Bury the Veil, keep it covered!”
“The Veil must be ascertained, brought to light!”
ordered a man, in military attire,
seemed to be in charge.
“Let me delve into its true nature, get me a lantern, a shovel.
I will discover. Excavate till it’s fully exposed.
Get me a hammer and a chisel.
Where is the damn shovel!
Get me a hundred strong workers!
clear the tents!
Get me infantry men with loaded guns!”
said the military man, by now, fully in charge.
“I will unveil it!” he proclaimed.
“May God have mercy on us!
These fools! These fools with loaded guns!
They don’t know what they’ve done.
Underneath the Veil, unknown radiations exist,
Exposing men to these rays,
will cause them to go berserk! Much like zombies!
They will lose control of their hands,
and their brains,
will cause them to grope women in the streets,
in the alleys!”
said a spectacled man,
with a doctorate degree in physics.
***
Under the rule of the military man,
The King to be more precise,
six years of digging passed,
the Veil not yet fully unveiled,
but then, The King,
was forcibly removed,
and so, the Veil was once again buried.
Ever since then, till now,
archeological digs,
have been conducted many times,
off and on,
without ever,
the true nature of the Veil being discovered.
At the moment,
the Veil is buried again, in a sarcophagus,
guarded by men with loaded guns, and beards,
waiting for another day,
for its true nature to be revealed.
But debates,
whether to expose the Veil,
or not,
still rages on,
much like the first day,
when for the first time it was discovered,
in the year, one thousand nine hundred thirty six.
by MPD, ©2012
Footnote: Many years ago I read a book by Carl Sagan, called “Contact,” and later when a movie, played by Jodie Foster, based on the book came out, I watched it a few times. In that story, an extraterrestrial message is received by the inhabitant of the planet earth, and at the time of the discovery a debate rages on about what to do with the message. This poem reminds of that story.
Blog Image: by Red Wine, please his archive here >>>
Translation: For the Farsi translation of this poem by Divaneh, please see here >>>
