بود، نبود Once Upon a Time

بود، نبود

ننه می گفت
توبره را
برصندوق سينه نگه دار 
 
نگو آفتاب کهنه شده
نگو بيگاه شد
بگو باز می آيم 
 
ديِو سپيد
پشت و پناهت باشد
 
های،
دختر پگاه!
سستی کار
شايد از دست های توست
که افسانه هم
پای در ِگل مانده است 
 
شانه را
از توبره بيرون آر
سر راه بدخواه
پرتاب کن
تا هفت جنگل
در پيش پاهايش برويد 
 
نگوآسمان دور
زمين سخت است 
 
از دريا و پری هايش
اگر می ترسی
آيينه را
پرتاب نکن 
 
نگو بود
نگو نبود
به خدای افسانه ها بسپار
ننه را بيامرزد
 
آیینه را
به دست مادر گلنار بده
که پیش پای تاکستان های سوخته
خواب مرغ و ماهی می بيند
 
نگو آفتاب لب بام
کوتاه است 
 
بگو می آيم
و اين بار
دل صاحب مرده ات را
جمع کن 
 
توبره را بتکان
به نام دیو سپید
آن تار موی را
دود کن 
 
مگر نبود؟ 
 
بود  نبود
دختری بود
که در خواب های دیر و مدامش
زنی پیچه سپید
پیوسته ورد میخواند: 
 
شمالی هنوز
سرشار ترانه است
و از چت خانه های ویرانش
روشنی می بارد
 

Once Upon a Time

in memory of Leila Seerahat Roshani 
 
Granny used to say
always keep your magic sack
tucked inside your ribcage.
 
Don't say the sun's worn out,
don't say it's gone astray.
Say, I'm coming back.
 
May the White Demon
protect and watch over you.
Oh, daughter of the dawn,
 
perhaps this sorry tale,
stuck in the mud,
was of your own doing.
 
Take the comb from the sack,
throw it in the Black Demon's path:
seven jungles will grow at his feet.
 
Don't say heaven's too far,
earth's too hard.  Don't throw the mirror
if you fear the sea and her nymphs.
 
Don't say there was, don't say there wasn't,
trust in the god of fairytales.
May Granny's soul rest in peace.
 
Give the mirror to Golnar's mother
who, down by the charred vineyards,
dreams of birds and fish.
 
Don't say the rooftop sun's too brief. 
Say, I'm coming and this time,
forget love's foolish griefs.
 
Shake out the sack.
In the name of the White Demon,
burn that strand of hair.
 
Wasn't there,
once upon a time ...?
Once upon a time there was
 
a girl in whose long, endless dreams,
an old woman with white braids,
forever telling beads, would pray:
 
‘May the Shomali Plain still fill with song
and through the ceilings
of its ruined homes, let light pour in.'
 
 
 

Once Upon a Time

In memory of Leila Serahat Roshani[1]
 
Granny used to say
keep your sack
inside your ribcage.[2]
 
Don't say the sun's old and faded
Don't say it's gone astray
Say I'm coming back.
 
May the White Demon
protect you and watch over you.
 
Hey,
Daughter of the dawn!
Maybe if things aren't working out
it's because of you,
because the fairytale
has got stuck in the mud.
 
Take the comb
out of the sack,
throw it
in the path of your foe
so that seven jungles
will grow in front of his feet.
 
Don't say heaven is far,
and the earth is hard
 
If you're afraid
of the sea and its nymphs
don't throw
the mirror.
 
Don't say it was
Don't say it wasn't
Entrust it to the god of the fairytales,
may he rest Granny's soul.
 
Give the mirror
to Golnar's mother
who dreams of birds and fishes
at the foot of the burned out vineyards.
 
Don't say the sun shines on the rooftop
too briefly.
 
Say I'm coming
and this time,
put away the heart of
your disinterested love.
 
Shake the sack and,
in the name of the White Demon,
burn that
strand of hair.
 
Wasn't it?
 
[Once upon a time] there was, [once upon a time] there wasn't,
there was a girl
in whose long and constant dreams
a white-haired woman
always chanted these prayers:
 
"The Shomali Plain is still
full of melodies
and through the ceilings of its ruined houses
light pours in."
 

Once Upon a Time: this poem refers to a fairytale in which the hero sets off to fight the Black Demon, aided by the White Demon and the magic powers of a sack with a mirror, a comb and a strand of hair. Fairytales traditionally start with the refrain, ‘There was one, there wasn’t one, apart from God, there was no one’.

Mimi Khalvati, Poet-translator

Notes on the literal translation:

[1] A friend of the poet, herself a poet, who suffered an incredibly hard life, lost her whole family in Afghanistan’s wars and herself died of cancer.

[2] Refers to a fairytale in which the main character sets off to fight the Black Demon, aided by the White Demon, who gives him a magic sack with a mirror, a comb and a strand of hair to help him fight off obstacles. Refers also to Leyla’s own hard life and her tendency to despondency, as well as her unrequited love.

Zuzanna Olszewska, Literal Translator

Original Poem by

Shakila Azizzada

Translated by

Zuzanna Olszewska with Mimi Khalvati Language

Dari

Country

Afghanistan