On my latest visit to Iran, I purchased a delightful, handcrafted artwork: a miniature gold tableau adorned with elegant flowers, upon which is inscribed a famous line of Persian poetry. The verse speaks of the destitution one embodies before God, pleading for a shred of mercy. Powerful though it is, at the time I did not think of locating the source of the verse. It sufficed merely as a decoration.
Months later, I stumbled upon the entire poem from which the line is found. Two verses resonated with me: the verse inscribed on the tableau, and the verse that immediately precedes it:
