Poems

Recitation

In the mother's throat
"Nazi" with a thousand endearments
burns vividly, vividly.[1]
 
Even though her chest is pierced [has a hole in it],
it is the treasure chest [repository?] of a thousand hidden endearments.
 
"Laaaaa ellah!"[2]
The mullah strays off his path
The [scent of] the flowerbed of sweet basil
spreads through the air
and ‘la ellah' sticks in the mullah's throat.
 
The mother's fingers
smooth the tangled locks
strand by strand
into place behind the girl's ears.
 
[Lying] on her knees
The limp head and neck
become [are as lovely as] a flowery meadow.
 
[Now throwing her] hands up into the air,
now hitting the crown of her head,[3]
"Nazi" laments the mother
and between her fingers
bunches of salt-and-pepper hair grow.
 
The white sheet slips off.
In the wound of the chest and the newly-ripe bare breasts
the mother's anguish is repeated.
 
"La ellah!" says the mullah.
 
The espandi[4]
turns her head.
 
The scent of camphor
mingles with the mother's incantations:
There is no
God
There is no
God
There is no
God