REMEMBRANCE
Remembrance is a musical journey to healing the huge loss of my beloved father, Mohsen Khadem. After his passing during the global pandemic of 2020, my grief could no longer be for him alone, but for all of those we lost.
Being unable to be by his side was profoundly difficult -- yet for so many immigrants in our world, life itself is like an infinity of limitations.
Knowing in my heart that my father knew how much I loved him gives me a sense of completion and peace. He is with me now wherever I go. I dedicate this work to his beautiful soul.
Translations
Remembrance
Poetry of Saadi Shirazi (1210-1291 or 1292), was a major Persian poet, widely recognized as one of the greatest poets of the classical literary tradition, earning him the nickname "The Master of Speech" or "The Wordsmith".
ذوقی چنان ندارد بی دوست زندگانی
دودم به سر برآمد زین آتش نهانی
می‌گفتمت که جانی دیگر دریغم آید
گر جوهری به از جان ممکن بود تو آنی
سروی چو در سماعی بدری چودر حدیثی
صبحی چو در کناری شمعی چو در میانی
There is not much zest to life
without my beloved present;
from this fire in my heart
smoke has reached up to my head.
I was saying to you:
You are my life, my soul –
I disdain all others!
If there could be an essence, a gem
greater that spirit itself,
you are it.
When you dance the whirling dance,
you are a cypress tree;
when you appear in a tale
you are the moon;
when you’re present at my side,
you are the dawn;
when you arrive in our midst
you are the source of light.
Translated by Omid Arabian
Mina (Chrysanthemum flower and Persian female name)
Poetry by Saeid Soltanpour
Originally Composed by Mehrdad Baran
The Poet of Revolution, Saeid Soltanpour (1940-1981) was a poet of the people who always served the interests of the masses, and as he wrote in one of his poems, "his young heart is like a compass that at all time points towards revolution." It was precisely for this that the ruling capitalists in Iran could not tolerate him. In reaction to Saied's revolutionary poetry, which indeed was an outcry for freedom and which called upon the people to fight, resist, and rise up against their enemies, the regime resorted to detention, imprisonment, and torture.
Whereas under the Shah's repressive regime he was arrested numerous times, and each time imprisoned and tortured, under the rule of the Islamic Republic -- whose task as the successor of the Shah's regime included finishing what had been left unfinished -- in a most savage way raided his wedding celebration, arrested him, and soon after -- on the last day of spring in 1981 -- executed him after he had just been freed from the Shah's prison during the revolutionary period of 1977.
از درون شب تار، می‌شکوفد گل صبح
خنده بر لب، گل خورشید کند، جلوه بر کوه بلند
نیست تردید زمستان گذرد
وز پی‌اش پیک بهار
با هزاران گل سرخ
بی‌گمان می‌آید
در گذرگاه شب تار، به دروازهٔ نور
گل مینای جوان
خون بیفشانده تمام
روی دیوار زمان
گرچه شب هست هنوز، با سیه‌چنگ بر این بام آونگ
آسمان غرق ستاره است و لیک
آسمان غرق ستاره است هنوز
From within the dark night,
morning’s flower blooms;
a smile on its face,
the sun’s flower appears
upon the soaring mountain.
There is no doubt:
Winter will pass;
and right behind it
the herald of Spring
with a thousand red flowers
will surely come.
In the dark passageway of night,
at the threshold of light,
the young leucanthemum flower
has splattered all its blood
upon the wall of time
Though night still clings
with its black claws
to this sky,
the night is steeped in stars –
still,
the night is steeped in stars
Translated by Omid Arabian
Entangled
Poetry of Maulana Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, more popularly as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet
یک دست جام باده و یک دست زلف یار
رقصی چنین میانه ی میدانم آرزوست
One hand holding a cup of wine,
one hand caressing my beloved’s hair –
I yearn to dance
in this way
in vast, open fields.
Translated by Omid Arabian
Across The Oceans
Poetry of Maulana Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, more popularly as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet
حیلت رها کن عاشقا دیوانه شو دیوانه شو
و اندر دل آتش درآ پروانه شو پروانه شو
Advice to Lovers
If you want to be a lover, give up
trying to figure the odds
on what you should do next.
Be a moth! Dive off the cliff!
Become the fearless flame.
Tear down your house.
Live with lovers. Wash your heart
of any anger. Wash it seven times!
Be the wineglass. Toast with yourself!
You are the wineglass. Toast with yourself!
You are the wineglass; The wine here
is love. This love,
Translated by Coleman Barks
Dead And Alive
Poetry of Maulana Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, more popularly as Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet
دولت عشق آمد و من دولت پاینده شدم مرده بدم زنده شدم گریه بدم خنده شدم
رفتم و دیوانه شدم سلسله بندنده شدم گفت که دیوانه نه‌ای لایق این خانه نه‌ای
رفتم و سرمست شدم وز طرب آکنده شدم گفت که سرمست نه‌ای رو که از این دست نه‌ای
جمع نیم شمع نیم دود پراکنده شدم گفت که تو شمع شدی قبله این جمع شدی
I was dead - I came alive.
I was tears - I became laughter.
Love’s wealth arrived,
and I became
everlasting fortune.
Love said,
“You are not insane -
you are not worthy of this house.”
I went and became insane -
insane enough to be in chains.
Love said,
“You are not drunken! Go!
You are not of this league!”
I went, and became drunken,
brimming with joy.
Love said,
“You’ve become a candle -
the one to whom these masses bow down.”
I am not the masses.
I am not their candle -
I became a candle’s smoke,
and scattered.
Translated by Omid Arabian
Face To Face
Poetry of Fatimah Baraghani also known as Tahereh Qurrat al-ʿAyn (1817 –1852), "The Pure One, and “Consolation of the Eyes" are both titles of Tahereh. She was an influential poet, women's right activist and theologian of the Bábí faith in Iran.
گر به تو افتدم نظر چهره به چهره رو به رو
شرح دهم غم دلم نکته به نکته مو به مو
از پی ديدن رخت همچو صبا فتاده ام
خانه به خانه در به در کوُچه به کوچه کو به کو
ميرود از فراق تو خون دل از دو ديده ام
دجله به دجله يم به يم چشمه به چشمه جو به جو
دور دهان تنگ تو عارض عنبرين خطت
غنچه به غنچه گل به گل لاله به لاله بو به بو
مهر تو را دل حزين بافته بر قماش جان
رشته به رشته نخ به نخ تار به تار پو به پو
در دل خويش "طاهره" گشت و نديد جز تو را
صفحه به صفحه لا به لا پرده به پرده تو به تو
If my eyes fall upon you –
person to person,
face to face,
I will recite
the ache in my heart
detail by detail,
point by point.
Seeking to see your face,
I am roaming
like the morning breeze –
house to house
street to street
alley to alley
door to door.
Your fragrant features
surround your slender mouth –
flower by flower
bloom by bloom
tulip by tulip
scent by scent.
From your absence, I cry
tears of blood and suffering
from my heart, through my two eyes –
river by river
sea by sea
spring by spring
stream by stream.
My wistful heart
has woven your love
into the fabric of my soul –
panel by panel
thread by thread
warp by warp
weft by weft.
“Tahereh” searched her heart, and found
nothing but you,
no-one but you –
page by page
sheet by sheet
chapter by chapter
line by line.
Translated by Omid Arabian
Messenger
Poetry of Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī (1315-1390) known by his pen name Hafez was a Persian poet, whose collected works are regarded by many Iranians as a pinnacle of Persian literature. His works are often found in the homes of people in the Persian-speaking world, who learn his poems by heart and use them as everyday proverbs and sayings.
حسب حالی ننوشتی و شد ایامی چند
محرمی کو که فرستم به تو پیغامی چند
ما بدان مقصد عالی نتوانیم رسید
هم مگر پیش نهد لطف شما گامی چند
So Many days
have gone by
without a note,
a missive from you –
where can I find
a trustworthy friend
so that I can send you
a message, or two?
I’ll never reach
your glorious abode
unless your Grace
takes a few steps
toward me.
Translated by Omid Arabian
Don’t Go Without Me
Poetry of Maulana Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, more popularly as Rumi (1207 – 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet.
خوش خرامان مي روي اي جان جان بي من مرو
اي حيات دوستان در بوستان بي من مرو
اين جهان با تو خوش است و آن جهان با تو خوش است
اين جهان بي من مباش و آن جهان بي من مرو
من شبم تو ماه من بر آسمان بي من مرو
تو گلي من خار تو در گلستان بي من مرو
Don't Go Without Me
Dancing in the ecstasy of leaving
soul of my soul,
Don't go without me. Laughing
with your friends, you enter the garden.
Don't go without me.
The two worlds are joyous because of you.
Don't stay in this world without me.
Don't go to the next without me.
Don't let your eyes see anything without me.
Don't let your tongue speak without me there.
Don't let your hands hold anything without me.
Don't let your soul stir to life without me
there with it. When I am with you
this world is a joy,
and the other world too.
As you travel this world and the other,
Don't go anywhere without me!
I am the night.
You are the moon in my empty sky.
Don't go without me.
You are a rose.
I am your thorn.
Don't Go Without Me
Translated by Coleman Barks