A poem by Sohrab Sepehri (سهراب سپهری)
Translated by Mortez
I walked toward a small water pond, so maybe
I could see
The reflection of my loneliness
Within its deep water of prudishness
But there was no water inside.
The fish said: “This is nobody’s fault.
It was a sunny summer afternoon and very hot.
The noble son of water used to sit in the middle of the pond,
But the eagle of the sun hunted him down
And flew away and high.
Never mind if we can’t breathe the oxygen in water anymore.
Never mind if our once golden scales have no sparkle anymore.
But that huge source of light,
The reflection of that red Gillyflower,
Whose heart used to beat within the encircling bushes of ignorance;
That was our eyes,
The only glimpse of hope for us
To believe in paradise.
If you could find god within two heartbeats of this garden
Take a step forward, and tell him:
‘The fish! Their pond has no water.’ ”
The wind began blasting the trees.
I began blasting god.
