Happy Valentine Happy Valentine

Original
Translated
Notes

Happy Valentine

هفت کوه شش دریا و دو آسمان تبانی کرده‌اند. دروغگویند

کی به تو گفت دوستت دارم؟

توی گل‌های شیپوری زار می‌زنم از تو بیزارم

توی رودخانه‌هایت آهک می‌ریزم روی ملافه‌ها مرکب

شکل عفریت می‌کشم روی بالش شاخ می‌گذارم روی عکس از تو بترسند ماهی‌ها

به دکمه‌هایم قفل می‌زنم به نوک پستان‌هایم طلسم

همه درخت‌های کوچه‌ات را اره می‌کنم فایل‌هایت را پاک

اسمت را چپه صدا می‌زنم پیراهنت را می‌دزدم

قیر می‌مالم به شیشه ماشینت میخ می‌ریزم پیچ جاده‌ها

در توالت را از رویت می‌بندم می‌روم سینما بی‌خیال

توی لیوان سوسک می‌اندازم توی کفش‌هایت پونز

بازی را به هم می‌زنم هر روز مهره‌ها را از نو دوباره می‌چینم

وسط حرف‌ها یک باغ‌وحش دریایی می‌گذارم پشت جدایی یک فرودگاه صحرایی

شب صدای جن می‌شوم توی گوش‌هات بمب ساعتی توی رگ و پی‌ات

کراوات میهمانی‌ات را قیچی می‌زنم زیگزاگ

حرف‌هایم را عوض می‌کنم مثل باد کارهایت را بایگانی می‌کنم توی پوشه

صدایت اه اه؛ شبیه بوق قطار دلم را هُرریِ

چشم‌هایت بدتر؛ دو پیاله مسی؛ پر از قند و حلوا

تو بدجور بوی زعفران و گل سرخ می‌دهی

قلبت پر از ماهی قرمز وول وول توی هم

بعد از این هرچه بپرسی راست می‌گویم هرچه بگویی انکار

توی موهایت کوکتل مولوتوف پرت می‌کنم رمبو شوی

انگشتم فرو توی رویاها چک چک کند حالت

دست‌کاری می‌کنم خوابت را قورباغه‌ها سوزن می‌شوند زیر لحاف

پرنده‌های شعر را اسب می‌کشم بالای درخت زن‌ها قوری چینی روی میز اتاق

سنجاب و شیر و مورچه‌خوار قاطی هم می‌شود توعینا

گربه زخم و زگیل بلا را نمی‌شود ول کرد توی لوله بخاری

ستاره نچسباند جز ززززز رو یپیشانی اش وقتی گم می‌شود

تمام فلش‌های دنیا خمیده‌اند سمت دندان‌های تو

کوچه‌ها تا خورده‌اند پله پله تا فرق سرم

گیج درگیر حفظ شماره طولانی توام بی‌برج و قلعه روزهای دنیا فرعی‌اند

در استخدام تماشا این گوش و چشم‌های قیقاج خسته از اضافه‌کاری مدام

از تق و توق چکش‌هایم روی دیوارت بشقاب‌ها زاییده‌اند

دوری از چنگال‌های تیزم رجز می‌خوانند سازهای نق‌نقو توی دلم

سماع می‌کنند فیل‌ها روی حلقه آتش

می‌رقصند روی بشکه خرس‌های دامن گَّلی

زنجیری هندوستان شدم از لهجه‌ی طوطی‌های دیوانه‌ات

کاش قفس بیاورند اژدها ادب شود اردیبهشت را دوباره بچینند برای بَِبر

تا شیپوری‌های سفید را نخورده این میمون حریص

دنیا را نریخته نپاشیده روی دامنش هیولا

عشق همین گل سرخی است که می‌بندم به سنگ من و پرتاب می‌کنم سمت شیشه‌هایت ناغافل

جرنگ و جرینگ و جرنگ

گرمب

The title is in English in the original

Happy Valentine

They say it was like the collision of seven mountains, six oceans and two

hemispheres. Well, they lied.

Who told you I love you? I lament to the lilies, Actually, I hate you!

I will fill your rivers with limes, flood your sheets with ink,

I'll draw the devil on your pillow and scare the fish with the horns and tail

I pin on you.

I'll make my nipples irresistible and put padlocks on my blouse.

I will cut down every tree on your street and delete your every file,

I will call your name out backwards, I will steal your shirt,

I'll smear tar on your windscreen, scatter nails at the bend in the road,

I'll lock you in the loo and go see a film without a backward glance,

I'll pop a cockroach in your drink and a drawing pin in your shoe,

move all the pieces on the board and ruin every game,

I'll put a desert between us, a whole teeming ocean.

I'll cut your fancy tie into zig zags, I'll slip explosives into your nervous

system. Each night I'll fill your ears with wailing banshees.

I'll let myself change my mind at the drop of a hat but of your every

move I'll keep a log.

The very sound of you - Oh god! - it sets my teeth on edge - and, even

worse,

your gloopy eyes, like bowls of syrup, your stink of saffron and red roses,

your heart full of goodluck goldfish, wriggling up against each other!

You know what? If you want to ask me something, I'll tell you straight -

but if you accuse me of anything, I'll just deny it!

I'll pour a Molotov cocktail into your hair; so you'll look like that picture of

Rimbaud,

I'll stick my fingers into your dreams, to mess you up altogether,

I'll take over your sleep; you'll think there are frogs needling you under

those sheets.

I'll turn the sweetest most tender images into ugly ones;

instead of beautiful birds I'll draw horses in the treetops. You know those

big fat women on Russian dolls? I'll graffiti them all over your table!I'll make you look like a squirrel crossed with a lion and anteater.

Yet I can't just dump you - a tatty, tormenting Tomcat

that can't even find his own way home.

Every arrow points to you. This accordion of streets folds back to you.

But I'm dizzy trying to climb all these summits and towers, trying to learn by heart your long number; these ears and eyes of mine are worn out

with it.

I've banged on your walls so hard the plates are smashed to

smithereens.

You may be far away from my sharp barbs but deep inside me it's as if

elephants sing, spinning hoops of fire and flowery-skirted bears

dance on barrels.

Your mad jabbering parrots have even got me hooked on an idea of India.

If only there was some way to tame this dragon, to put the tiger back in

its cage. If only it could be Spring again,

before this greedy animal eats up all the white lilies,

before this monster completely destroys her entire world.

Love is like a red rose that I tie to the stone of myself and aim at your

window.

Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.

Crash!

Notes on the literal translation:

[1] Reference to fairytales/epic tales of what people could do for love

[2] White flowers that look like ears

[3] Quite an emphatic word ZAR, suggests a wailing kind of complaint) // from / you / I am without ZAR = I can’t take it anymore (expression) => Azita herself likes the translation I hate you, which is another meaning of the expression and it contrasts with ‘I love you’ in the second line.

[4] Common expression, on its own this also means ‘don’t worry about it’

[5] Disapproving sound – a similar expression could be used here to express disapproval or disgust – oh my god etc.

[6] In Persian this is ‘Halwa’ (sweet meats? Halwa is a type of sweet made out of flour, oil and sugar, it’s made traditionally for weddings and funerals

[7] also used in halwa

[8] Tossing and turning, wriggling (in farsi this is an onomatopoeic word ‘VOOL VOOL’ meaning to move around / in, amongst / each other

[9] Rimbaud’s hair was always messy, he looked unkempt

[10] this expression, haleto chak chak kardan, has been translated elsewhere as ‘to make you beg’

[11] The warty cat being the lover / no sign will be placed on in so that it doesn’t get lost

[12] onomatopoeic to imply sizzling

[13] another onomatopoeic word, here a clanging noise

[14] those who complain, moan NEGH NEGHOO (another onomatopoeic word, here it means moaning and refers to the annoying sound of someone complaining constantly)

[15] The narrator

[16] This line is made up of three onomatopoeic words, that denote the sound that keys might make, or of something that rings – obviously implying the breaking glass. In Persian it sounds like GERANG O GERING. Could be translated either with the use of other sounds, or with the indication that the stone has been thrown.

Elhum Shakerifar, Literal Translator

Original Poem by

Azita Ghahreman

Translated by

Elhum Shakerifar with Maura Dooley Language

Farsi

Country

Iran

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