اين خواستن و اين من This Craving and this Me

اين خواستن و اين من

اين پروانه

از كجا پيدا شد     چه طور اين طور كهربايی
كی
بر دستۀ فنجان نشست      چه وقت بر ركاب زيرپوش تو
و من
در كجای از لبخندت بی دست و پا شدم      درچه جای ازصدات ولو؟
 
اين قاصدك
از كی آمد     و چرا اين قدر زنگاری
تا اول
ناف تو را طواف كند      بعد رد لب های مرا وارسی؟
 

زن

بايد اتفاقی افتاده باشد     نباشد بی وقت
كه تو
هی به مردگانت نهيب می زنی      هی پدرانت را پس
و خط
بر كلمات پوك
حرف های پوسيده     جملات نخنما وصداهای مطنطن
 

اين پروانه

اين قاصدك     اين خواستن و اين من؟
 

مهر 1386

 

 

 

This Craving and this Me

This butterfly
where did it come from?
How so amber?           When did it alight on the cup handle?
When         on the strap of your petticoat?
And me        where did I stumble
as you smiled?
Where in your voice
did I lose myself?
 
This flower
when did it arrive          and why         so turquoise
to first circle your navel
and then examine where my lips have been?
 
Woman,
something must have happened         or not
for you to reject the past
ward off your ancestors
and expunge
the hollow words
tired phrases         tattered lines         and pompous voices
 
This butterfly
this flower          this craving and this me?
 
October, 2007
 

This Craving and this Me

This butterfly
Where              did it come from?
How, so amberish, when          did it sit on the cup handle?
When               on the strap of your underwear?
And where on your smile
Did I become so clumsy?
On what part of your voice
Did I lose myself?
 
This dandelion
When did it come        and why           so turquoise?
To circumambulate  your navel first
And inspect the trace of my lips next?
 
Woman!
Something should have/ have not happened    suddenly
For you to repeatedly warn your dead
Reject your ancestors
And cross
The hollow words
Worn-out phrases        ragged  lines      and pompous voices
 
This butterfly
This dandelion             this craving  and this me?
 
October, 2007
 

We thoroughly enjoyed translating this delicate lyric by Masoud Ahmadi. The one detail that provoked a great deal of discussion was the flower called, in the original and in Alireza’s translation, a ‘dandelion’. However, the poet clearly also says that it’s ‘turquoise’ – poetic license, maybe, but not something we could bring into English. In the end, we decided to go with the generic ‘flower’, which solved our problems.

Sarah Maguire, Workshop Facilitator

Original Poem by

Masoud Ahmadi

Translated by

Alireza Abiz with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Farsi

Country

Iran