Table of contents Poet
1- Regret ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦. Moulavi
2- Basement ā¦…ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦…ā¦ā¦ā¦ DR. Afshin Yadollahi
3- Eveās desire ā¦ā¦ā¦…ā¦ā¦.ā¦ā¦ā¦. Mohammad Ali Bahmani
4- Forbidden Tree ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦. DR. Afshin Yadollahi
5- Oh God! Distance between us ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦…ā¦ā¦. Pouya Bayati
6- Wherever You are ā¦…ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦…ā¦ā¦.. Roozbeh Bemani
7- Donāt call me devout ā¦ā¦…ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦. DR. Afshin Yadollahi
8- Just like no one else ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦…… DR. Afshin Yadollahi
9- Let me get involved ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦………..ā¦.. Roozbeh Bemani
10- Thereās always someone ā¦.ā¦ā¦ā¦.ā¦ā¦ā¦. Hadis Dehghan
Regret
During days my thought and my word all night
That why Iām care free about the feelings of my heart?!
Where am I from? And what did I come for?
Where do I go at last? Why donāt You[1] show me home?
Cool would be the day I fly to Friendās side
Fluttering wings, hoping for His sight
Havenāt come here by myself, to be back on my own
The One who brought me, will take me back home!
Wondering deeply why He made me
Or what His purpose was of creating me
During days my thought and my word all night
That why Iām care free about the feelings of my heart?!
Basement
Sometimes a simple house in clay bricks
Is more valuable than the whole world, isnāt it?
Sometimes, even though living in a palace
Your heart still trembles with grief, doesnāt it?
Youād be willing to give whatever you have
To get a happy heart from God, in return!
Youād be willing to gamble on your life if
You could die with a loving heart in the end!
Weāve gone such a long way after this world
Seems this road does not end at all!!
Sometimes when we reach some place
As if its joy doesnāt last so long!!
Letās wish at least once on this journey
Our heart leads us to the right path
Our destiny may not be like this
If temptations just hang awhile[2] back
Sometimes a simple house in clay bricks
Is more valuable than the whole worldā¦
Eveās Desire
Once my heart sought for adventure and left
Broke with the way of the world and went
Laced up the escapee shoes so fast
Rolled up sleeves, in great attempt
At dusk, suddenly, in a childish act
Threw stone at tomorrowās glass
Poor thing had just become human
Eveās desire struck at last!!
Tore apart past reports, all one
Folded up morrowās letters in a flash
Poor thing had just become human
Eveās desire struck at last!!
Once my heart sought for adventure and left
Broke with the way of the world and went
Living beings were too old for him
Disguised as the Dead, intruded
Yearned for fresh air, though in the end
Burst in clouds of dust, by-passed
Searched for happinessā key all life
Double locked the old locks, went, passed
At dusk, suddenly, in a childish act
Threw stone at tomorrowās glass
Poor thing had just become human
Eveās desire struck at last!!
Forbidden Tree
We can feel God on simple moments
On emotional pressure or while sinning undesired
Without love, oneās life goes by lacking faith
Seventy years of serving, windswept in a minute!
When true love decides in the end
No matter itās soon or even too late!
So afraid of love, deeper than ever in it
Any impossible thing, turning possible with it
Oh! Seems to get possible indeed!
If youāre not in love, even God is odd to you!
Of Eveās moments, evil is the only residue!
Donāt be afraid if your heart wakes from deep sleep
Maybe God has written your story anew!
Completely anew!!
When true love decides in the end
No matter itās soon or even too late!
So afraid of love, deeper than ever in it
Any impossible thing, turning possible with it
Oh! Seems to get possible indeed!
Distance between us…
Disappeared You from my mind
Bitter fever of forgetfulness
Getting used to this strange case
Carelessness, darkly silence
Why my heartās eye is blind?!
My walking stick is not resolved?!
Which wave of distress, by the way
Has washed You totally off my mind?!
Oh God! Distance between You and me
You said itās just nearby!
From here that Iām standing
How high above seems the sky!
I really hate repetition
And this fake, faded smile
This deep despair that has caused
Forgetting You for such a long while
I am captured in darkness
My night has lost its moonlight
Please remove from my blind eyes
This old suffering of sleep, by right!
I wonder! Why I canāt cry?!
Has my heart turned to stone?!
Oh God! Where am I going?
Which point of the path is longed for?
I want to fall in love so much
This worldās crave doesnāt let
On my way to heaven, alas!
Trees of life are laid, hidden
Wherever You areā¦
Ā
Wherever in world You are, my heart is!
I build my Kaaba[3] around You!
Iāve left the whole world behind
To say prayers towards You!
My feelings get refreshed every day
Drowning in You, may I become like the sea!
I really hate to be all my life
In love with You, habitually!
Sometimes worshipping differs from serving
Although you may do the same deeds,
Sometimes to admire your beloved well,
You should raise brow after genuflecting
During years, any pain You gave me
I think, was quite what I needed
The moment I fell in, at your feet
Was the nicest of my prayers, indeed!
Wherever in world You are, my heart is!
I build my Kaaba around You!
Iāve left the whole world behind
To say prayers towards You!
Donāt call me devout
Donāt call me ādevoutā anymore
When I havenāt been in love even once
Claiming to achieve salvation always
Just a bluff! I was never in love!
Afraid of my heart all my life
This last breath has made me mad
Now Iām afraid this rare lunacy
Leaves me one day and doesnāt come back!
Leaves me one day.., doesnāt come back!
Just like no one else!
All world wants and You say āNOā, it wonāt happen
You say āYESā and thatās all done in one second
Since the āFIRSTā and the āLASTā are both You!
Itās forbidden to ask from those depending on You!
Youāre always present here!
Itās me, far away from You ā¦
The very me, deep in lunar death
All I need is sunny eyes of You!
I donāt want to be manikinās puppet,
As far as I have You as my God!
Why would I take You for granted?!
Iād better regard You as eternal love!
Recently Iāve found that except You,
Nobodyās word would be a sure thing
People may come for a while, and goā¦
Nobody is going to be everlastingā¦
Set me free from myself please!
To restore my life again and again
So tired of this weary mind
Iād rather go somehow insane!
All world wants and You say āNOā, it wonāt happen
You say āYESā and thatās all done in one second
Since the āFIRSTā and the āLASTā are both You!
Itās forbidden to ask from those depending on You!
Let me get involvedā¦
Let me get involved with You
So my world gets upside down
So my still, silent nights
Face You, infusing on and on
Carelessly, aimlessly heading for Your stormā¦
Let me get involved, may I can calm down!
Dreaming of You still,
Like every day and everā¦
My memory, all the nights
Fills just with Your image
Donāt look at me like strangers!
Me.., caring about You so much!
Donāt turn Your eyes away from me
Iām staring at Your image as much!
You are always hereā¦ indeed!
With You, night is dreamlike
Oh! The climax of the world
Is exactly here in my life!
You are here and every day
Iām suffering lonelinessā¦!
Bring me near my very self
To remind me of Your presence
Dreaming of You still,
Like every day and everā¦
My memory, all the nights
Fills just with Your image
Donāt look at me like strangers!
Me.., caring about You so much!
Donāt turn Your eyes away from me
Iām staring at Your image as much!
Thereās always someoneā¦
Thereās someone who always loves me
Who doesnāt blink while looking at me!
All alone by Himself, never leaves me lone
What a heart He has! Vast seas are none!
When I cry.., comes to cast my sorrows aside
Comes closer to give me a hugā¦
Much lower than the city skyā¦
Opening the door, God is behind!
I closed my eyes and passed Him byā¦
He ignores misdeeds and turns a blind eyeā¦
Whatever I do, doesnāt leave me behind
The feeling between us is much more than love!
Unkind to my heart.., He absolutely is not!
Abandoning me ever.., on no account!!
A drop of regret is shining againā¦
Counts an excuse to forgive me againā¦
I closed my eyes and passed Him byā¦
He ignores misdeeds and turns a blind eyeā¦
Whatever I do, doesnāt leave me behind
The feeling between us is much more than love!
[1] Throughout the book, capital pronouns refer to God
[2] Respite
[3] The most important Islamic place, in Mecca, which is a black cube shaped building, to its direction Muslims must face when praying.
A Translation Of Some Iranian Contemporary Poems
By Mahdieh S. Shahabi