Ahmad Shamlou (selected from The Retribution, 1970) Persion English Poetry

At the end of this Earth,
the spot- the roots of the sands–
in safety rely- on a counterfeit dearth,

and a deceitful shortage,
like a dancing mirage,
There is a cottage.

At the end of this Earth,
there stands a cottage.

***&***

Somewhere,
about the fence slicing this Earth,
splitting the divine and men,
there sits a cottage.


There,
the wind slides–
on the shady ladder of the lodge–
and sweeps all the marble stairs–
opening to my frozen flare.

There,
the pilgrims carry–
their checkered attires, bare-feet,
barefeet and singing, to the altar.

***&***

My abode,
is at the end of the world,
beside the fence between the dusts-
and the void.


Translation: Maryam Dilmaghani, January 2009, Montréal.