I Write You a Poem

By Majid Naficy

I write you a poem
Like “eshq”: the Persian word for “love”*
In which letters are connected,

From the magical fountain of its “ayn”
Where it washes you
To the sweet teeth of its smiling “shin”
And the round summit of its insurmountable “qaf”*.)

I write you a poem
Like “azadi”: the Persian word for “freedom”*
In which letters are unconnected,
From the high tide of its sea: “mad”
To the green of its mountain: “alef”
From the pressure which has bent
The pillars of its three letters
To the perfection of its four letters
Covering “alef” to “ya”
And the separation of its five fingers
Making one hand.

I write you a poem
On  “eshq”
Which takes root as “morning glory”*
And on “azadi”
Which has become uprooted.

January 15, 1986

*- The word “eshq” is comprised of three letters “ayn”, “shin” and “qaf”. The whole poem is based on playing with Persian script, that is, the shape of letters and their double meanings.
*- The word “qaf” also is the name of a magical mountain where a mythological bird “simorgh” lives.
*- The word “azadi”  is comprised of five letters “alef with mad”, “alef”, za”, “dal” and “ya”. “Alef” is the first and “ya” the last letter of Persian alphabet.
*- The word “eshq” derives from the word “ashaqeh”, a kind of “bindweed”.

شعری برایت می‌نویسم

مجید نفیسی

شعری برایت می‌نویسم
چون کلمه‌ی عشق که به‌هم‌پیوسته است:
از چشمه‌ی جادویی عین‌ش که تو را در خود می‌شوید
از دندانه‌ی شیرین شین‌ش که به تو لبخند می‌زند
و از قله‌ی گرد قاف‌ش که فتح‌ناشدنی‌ست.

شعری برایت می‌نویسم
چون کلمه‌ی آزادی که از‌هم‌گسسته است:
از سربلندی مّد دریایش
از سرسبزی الف کوهستانش
از فشاری که ستون سه رکنش را خمیده کرده
از کمال چار حرفش که از الف تا یا را در‌بر‌می‌گیرد
و از جدایی پنج انگشتش که یک دست را می‌سازد.

شعری برایت می‌نویسم
از عشق که چون عَشَقه ریشه می‌گیرد
و از آزادی که خود ریش‌ریش است.
پانزدهم ژانویه هزار‌و‌نهصد‌و‌هشتاد‌و‌شش