هفت سین   Haft Seen

هفت سین  

ابری اگر نبود
می توانستی
از اين آسمان کوتاه
دانه دانه
ستاره بچينی،
از موهای مدام آشفته اش
بيآويزی
و انگار کنی
می گويد: 
 
به قالين َموْر می مانم
که هرچه کهنه شود
زيباتر می گردد
هرچند
دو، سه بچه ی شيطان
بر آن شاشيده باشد 
 
رسيدی؟ 
 
حالا سفره ی هفت سين را
ميان ميدان "دام"پهن کن 
 
باران هم که ببارد
سپاهی گم نام
با خيل کبوتران
مهمان تواند
 

Haft Seen

If it weren't for the clouds,
I could
pick the stars
one by one
from this brief sky,
hang them
in your ever ruffled hair
and hear
you saying:
 
‘I'm like a silk rug -
the older it gets,
the lovelier it grows,
even if
two or three naughty kids
did pee on it.'
 
Have I arrived yet?
 
Then let me spread
the Haft Seen tablecloth
in the middle of Dam Platz.
 
Even if it rains,
The Unknown Soldier
and a flock of pigeons
will be my guests. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Haft Seen: traditional display of seven symbolic items beginning with the letter ‘s’, prepared for the New Year festival of Now Ruz.

Dam Platz: historical square in Amsterdam flanked by the Royal Palace and the National Memorial to the Dutch war dead.

Haft Seen

If not for the clouds
you could
pick the stars
one by one [1]
from this brief sky;
hang
from her perpetually ruffled hair
and imagine that
she says:[2]
 
"I am like a silk rug
that becomes more beautiful
the more worn-out it is,
even though
two or three naughty children
have peed on it."
 
Have you arrived?
 
Now spread your "haft seen" tablecloth [3]
in the middle of the Dam Platz. [4]
 
Even if it rains
the Unknown Soldier
and the swarm of pigeons
are your guests.
 

Haft Seen: traditional display of seven symbolic items beginning with the letter ‘s’, prepared for the New Year festival of Now Ruz.

Dam Platz: historical square in Amsterdam flanked by the Royal Palace and the National Memorial to the Dutch war dead.

Mimi Khalvati, Poet-translator

Notes on the literal translation:

[1] Literally: “grain by grain.”

[2] Shakila clarified that the pronoun here refers to a dear friend that she is thinking about, while the ‘you’ refers to the narrator herself.

[3] Refers to the traditional display of 7 symbolic items beginning with ‘s’ that is prepared at the New Year/Spring festival of Noruz.

[4] The historical square in Amsterdam flanked by the Royal Palace and the National Memorial to the Dutch war dead.

Zuzanna Olszewska, Literal Translator

Original Poem by

Shakila Azizzada

Translated by

Zuzanna Olszewska with Mimi Khalvati Language

Dari

Country

Afghanistan