Two poems from Sheema Kalbasi’s new bilin­gual anthol­ogy of Persian poetry:

WITH YOU

 

 

Your ten­der revolt
Contained by the illicit apple
Pounds in red
And your eyes’ shat­tered dia­mond
A woman in seclu­sion
Revolves into a star
With you
On the sur­face of water
I am thirsty
Place the skies in your eyes
Blaze out the star
So that I can see you
The sea is peace­ful
Silent…



–Mehri Rahmani


Seven Valleys of Love: Translated by Sheema Kalbasi



THOSE DAYS

 

 

Those days
Poetry
Was my room
And wher­ever I felt unsafe
I grav­i­tated into its eter­nal sanctuary.

These days
There aren’t any rooms                                    
That can har­bor me against the crowd
and behind every win­dow
inside and out­side every room
a two-​​faced clown sneers.

 


–Fereshteh Sari

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 2008 by Sheema Kalbasi. All Rights Reserved.

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