The House of Wisdom

By the fierce River Tigris

Through the souk

To the palace,

Bayt al-Hikma

Sullen rain beats

On copper rooves

Verdigris weathervanes

Marbled walls

Courtyard gardens

Perfumed roses

Riotous tobacco plants

The caliph yawns,

Taps his toes,

Dreams,

The scholars consider

Mathematicians

Physicists

Astronomers

Inhabit revelation and

Insight,

Demonstrate enlightenment

Out of the shadows

The scholars think,

Invent,

Are curious

The servant boy watches the beetle

Scuttle across the floor

The caliph burps

The scholars observe

Exactly,

Precisely,

But do they see?

Can they rationalise the fig tree,

Know the mystery of the peacock?