Saturday, February 17, 2007

Forough Farokhzad


Another Birth
By Forugh Farokhzad

My whole being is a dark chant
which will carry you
perpetuating you
to the dawn of eternal growths and blossoming
in this chant I sighed you sighed
in this chant
I grafted you to the tree to the water to the fire.

Life is perhaps
a long street through which a woman holding
a basket passes every day

Life is perhaps
a rope with which a man hangs himself from a branch
life is perhaps a child returning home from school.

Life is perhaps lighting up a cigarette
in the narcotic repose between two love-makings
or the absent gaze of a passerby
who takes off his hat to another passerby
with a meaningless smile and a good morning .

Life is perhaps that enclosed moment
when my gaze destroys itself in the pupil of your eyes
and it is in the feeling
which I will put into the Moon's impression
and the Night's perception.

In a room as big as loneliness
my heart
which is as big as love
read more ...

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Naj, you may find this of interest.

Anonymous said...

Just finished reading the poem you posted. Beautiful! I've bookmarked the page and shall blog about her later. I'm sure many members of "Progressive Bloggers" will like reading about her and her work.
----------------
P.S. I saw your blogroll. Thanks! Just a small request: would you be kind enough to replace "The Cylinder" (mostly Canadian content) with "Filasteen" (Mideast content)? Thanks ever so much, Naj!

Naj said...

Happy to know you liked Forough.

Someone should take a systematic initiation in translating Persian modern (or even Persian classic) literature.

Rumi is by far the most popular one, but the world needs to learn about Sohrab, Shamlu, Akhavan, Simin Daneshvar, Simin Behbahani, Mahmood Dolat Abadi, Ghazaleh Alizadeh, Nader Ebrahimi, Fereydoon Moshiri, Hooshang Golshiri, Abbas Ma'roofi, Moniroo Ravanipour, Nima Yushij, Sadegh Hedayat, Emran Salahi, Ali Salehi, Sadegh Choobak, Hamid Mosaddegh, Goli Taraghi, and and and ...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the change in the blogroll! Much appreciated!

Thanks as well for the initiation in Persian Literature. This is all so new to me and I am looking forward to learning more in the months/years ahead. Two events in my life have left lingering emotions regarding Iran and it's only now that those events are sort of coming together. One is the Peter Brook's film Meetings with remarkable men and the other is a documentary on Shah Ahmad Massood. Towards the end Massood offered the viewers a reading of a poem in Farsi about Afghanistan. I did not understand a word but the music of the language just blew me away.

Naj said...

My pleasure. Here's something you may like:
http://poems.lesdoigtsbleus.free.fr/id95.htm

Anna said...

Dear Naj
Just now I got aware by your "about me" that you are a woman! And what you are sick and tired of. So am I, Naj, even as not Iranian who is all over again just upset about all the desinformation about Iran and especially about women there ... and westernes even call it "knowledge". It's so damned simple just to read for example "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and that's it and then thinking now your are "informed". I consider such to be a special form of arrogance. So many women (but also men!) are not free at all in the west, just this lack of freedom "comes along" a different way in the disguise of freedom. How ever you might define this wonderful word "freedom". I myself am writing against exactly these forms of ignorance. Hard but important work. And I appreciate your work very much!

Love and all the best my sister: Anna

Naj said...

Thank you Anna,

I think it is a good time that we get on with translating the stories of people who live in Iran to provide and alternative to the politically motivated woman-stories that are published in the west.

I have a little post on these kind of books.

Faramin said...

Interesting blog; specially the description of the blog that seems to be followed by good contents. Glad to see your blog.

Faramin
http://www.humanfirstthenproudiranian.blogspot.com/

Naj said...

Thanks for visiting Faramin. Hope to see you again.

Al S. E. said...

Hello N

You just left a comment on my blog, and as there is no email address given on your blog, I am taking the liberty of using the comments section.

Firstly, I believe this was the first comment I received from you. I don't recall a comment from an "N" before.

Secondly, when the largest military power in the history of the world is on the brink of attacking Iran (for reasons of its own, and not to benefit Iran in any way whatsoever), I think full solidarity is the order of the day. Anything else is treason. I am not open to listening to arguments on this point. That may make me undemocratic, but so be it.

Anna said...

Hi, faramin!
Have just put also your blog to the favorites.

Isn't it all over again amazing that "we the people" are the majority :-)

I am wishing us all the luck and power we need, to oppose all the morons and warmongers doing their "best" to be against us :-)

We shall overcome! Some day.

Everything best to you too: A.

Fleming said...

I am very happy to discover your excellent blog and I will return regularly. NEO-RESISTANCE is an inspiring combination of beauty and the truths about international affairs which must be spread if we are to stop the US/Zionist push toward yet another war.