Sohrab Sepehri Persian Poetry Translated To English Poetry

Sohrab Sepehri (From Footsteps of Water, 1965)

I went, went to the gatherings of the world.
And I saw things, things in this world.

The battles we fought,
The defeats we endured,
The struggles we witnessed,
And the triumphs we rejoiced.

Old Persian Poetry Translated To English Poetry

Rumi (1207 – 1273): Moses & The Shepherd

Then, to the blessed heart- 
of Moses, the fellow of God,
arrived these words of the divine! 

Moses!
I send you out, to mend and blend,
never to cast-out, to estrange or divide.

For all men, I place on Earth,
I design a fate, I consign a face.

One man meant for the praise,
the other is set- to take the blames.

English Poetry Translated From Persian : Superb

Ahmad Shamlou (I am to live, to Love, Part 1) 
In the hostile darkness-
of this sinister place,
in the exile of Earth 

I am to stay, yes!

I, I’ve made up my mind.
I want to stand besides
all those who called
for me in resort;

And, with all those-
who opened me their doors.
-.-.-.-

Here, yes! I am set to stay,
with all I met and are to praise.
with all who set my heart ablaze.

I want to stay, to wander around,
I want to search, to find in awe.
I have made up my mind,
I shall stay to decide:
Who am I?


Translation: Maryam Dilmaghani, Fall 2012, Halifax

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.

Persian Poetry in English : Ahmad Shamlou (Nightly, 1969)

Ahmad Shamlou (Nightly, 1969)

For a mere whisper, perhaps?
Or maybe for a ritual, a prayer?

It wonder,
If the poplar tree and the pine,
concealed in the embrace of unison,
are not preparing a new plot, a new scheme!
Or contriving a conspiracy? Or a secret sisterhood?

Well,
any of these may indeed, be true.
And why shouldn’t they?


In time,
the monstrous beasts of darkness,
and the sworn enemies of life–
are seen wandering around–
all day and all night.


*&*

True!
I head them marching.
I heard them prying, waiting-
in a silent ambush.

And,
I deem,
this silence,
is not but a nuptial recital and a wager–
celebrating the union of this darkness–
and its only legitimate mate–
this night.

*&*

Also true!
I saw her singing.
The nightingale I mean.
Standing alone, up in the in air,
In the silence of the sky,
She never stopped.

True,
I saw her, myself,
dancing to her anthem of truth,
not going to sleep–
staying up,
in the air.

*&*

Yet,
I wonder,
if for a mere whisper,
the poplar tree and the pine–
are sealed in the embrace of unison–
like you and I?

*&*


None,
But True!
For I myself see–
In this tormented sea–
The Night pleads for eternity–
And the darkness bids for everlasting-
Life.

And I deem,
in this tormented sea–
For the presence of Evil–
no stronger proof or evidence–
than this flawless silence–
needs to be brought.

***&***

For Evil, for its presence–
this dense and flawless silence–
is the irrefutable evidence.


***&***

Translated By: Maryam Dilmaghani, June 2009, Montreal