A Poem by Mahmud Kianush from the Book:
“Modern Persian Poetry” ( a book of 129 poems by 43 poets)
I
Can once again
The song of a bird
Make man stop for a few moments
By the shrine of a tree
On his way to destroy life?
II
All my life I have been brooding
Over a single pebble of doubt,
And yet I cannot expect
The lark of a clear thought
to be hatched,
Because whenever I swallow
One of many fears of the future,
Deep down in my heart I hear
The hissing of a serpent
That tries to break its way
Out of the shell of doubt
Towards the tomorrow of mankind.
III
Whenever I think about Beginning
of any kind,
Before me I see a circle.
I make my eyes run
Round and round along the fatal line
Until I feel I am nothing but a point
Somewhere on the circle before me,
And in my silent despair I cry:
“Let this be the Beginning!”
I stare at the point on the fatal line,
And it tells me,
perhaps with sarcasm:
“Let it be also the End!”
IV
The man you hate
Because he is very stupid,
Is loved by his neighbour
Because he is very kind.
Dead twigs usually make
the best nests
For beautiful birds
you usually admire
Their plumage and songs.
V
I say “Hello!”
And they ask my name.
The fish live nameless in the sea,
And they all greet each other.
Without a name I do not exist,
And with a name
I am easily forgotten.
VI
I hide myself
In the bushes of words,
and you seek for me;
Both of us are lost.
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