Two Iranians in Paris

Majid Naficy

        For Nestor Rakhshani

We must touch the water
To catch up with Usbek and Rica
Those two fictional characters
Whom Montesquieu four centuries ago
Brought from Isfahan to Paris
To serve as his mouthpieces
Speaking against despotism
In his novel “The Persian Letters”.

By the River Seine
We hold each other’s hands
And descend the stairs.
In the last step
We bend and barely
Touch the water.
There, a huge ship passes by
With the sound of dancing and singing.
Am I Usbek and are you Rica?
Are you Usbek and am I Rica?
Where is our Montesquieu?

Then we climb up the stairs,
Make ourselves busy
With some grilled chestnuts
And start to walk by the Seine
In search of our own Montesquieu.

November 18, 2024

https://iroon.com/irtn/blog/20742/two-iranians-in-paris/