فروغ فرخزاد
Forough Farrokhzad R.I.P.
Iran's "controversial modernist poet and an iconoclast"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forough_Farrokhzad
Disclaimer: I fully understand that her works have been translated to so many languages by great translators. What you see here is just my own feeling towards this poem and it may be totally wrong.
اندوه تنهایی
Andooheh Tanhâyi
The Sorrow of Loneliness
پشت شیشه برف می بارد
Poshteh shisheh barf mibârad
Behind the window, it is snowing
پشت شیشه برف می بارد
Poshteh shisheh barf mibârad
Behind the window, it is snowing
در سکوت سینه ام دستی
Dar sokooteh sineh am dasti
In the silence of my heart, someone (or something)
دانه ی اندوه می کارد
Dâneyeh andooh mikârad
Sows the seeds of sorrow
موسپید آخر شدی ای برف
Moosepid âkhar shodi ey barf
O You Snow, your hair turned gray (white)
تا سرانجامم چنین دیدی
Tâ saranjâmam chenin didi
When you had seen the final chapter of my life story*
در دلم باریدی, ای افسوس
Dar delam bâridi ey afsoos
You snowed in my heart, Ah, alas
بر سر گورم نباریدی
Bar sareh gooram nabâridi
You never snowed on my grave**
چون نهالی سست می لرزد
Chon nahâli sost milarzad
Like a little fragile sprout
روحم از سرمای تنهائی
Rooham az sarmâyeh tanhâyi
My soul is shivering by the coldness of loneliness
می خزد در ظلمت قلبم
Mikhazad dar zolmateh ghalbam
In the depth of my heart's darkness
وحشت دنیای تنهائی
Vahshateh donyayeh tanhâyi
The fear of an immense loneliness is slithering
دیگرم گرمی نمی بخشی
Digaram garmi nemibakhshi
Do not you (want to) warm my heart once again?
عشق، ای خورشید یخ بسته
Eshgh, ey khorshid e yakh basteh
O You Love, a frozen sun ***
سینه ام صحرای نومیدیست
Sineh am sahrâyeh nomidist
My chest is like a desert, full of despairs
خسته ام، از عشق هم خسته
Khasteh am, az eshgh ham khasteh
I am tired, I am even tired of love
غنچه شوق تو هم خشکید
Ghoncheh shogheh tow ham khoshkid
Did your bloom of hope wither?
شعر، ای شیطان افسونکار
Sher, ey sheytâneh afsoonkâr
O You Poem, a seductive demon
عاقبت زین خواب دردآلود
Âghebat zin khâbeh dardâlood
Finally, from this traumatic dream
جان من بیدار شد، بیدار
Jâneh man bidâr shod bidâr
My soul has awakened, awakened
بعد از او بر هر چه رو کردم
Bad az oo bar harcheh roo kardam
After him, every single time I looked at something
دیدم افسون سرابی بود
Didam afsooneh sarâbi bood
I found it a spellbound mirage!
آنچه می گشتم به دنبالش
Âncheh migashtam be donbâlash
The thing I was looking for
وای بر من، نقش خوابی بود
Vây bar man, naghsheh khâbi bood
Alas! it was a vision of a dream!
ای خدا, بر روی من بگشای
Ey khodâ, bar rooyeh man bogshây
O My God, unseal for me
لحظه ای درهای دوزخ را
Lahzeh ii darhâyeh doozakh râ
The inferno's gates, for just a moment
تا به کی در دل نهان سازم
Tâ be key dar del nahân sâzam
How long should I conceal in my heart
حسرت گرمای دوزخ را؟
Hasrateh garmâyeh doozakh râ
My desire for the warmth of the inferno
دیدم ای بس آفتابی را
Didam ey bas, âftâbi râ
I have seen a sun for so many times
کاو پیاپی در غروب افسرد
Keoo payâpey dar ghoroob afsord
Which has been frozen in the evenings endlessly
آفتاب بی غروب من
Âftâbeh bi ghoroobeh man
(but) My immortal sun
ای دیغا، درجنوب افسرد
Ey darighâ dar jonoob afsord
Ah, alas, it was frozen in the south ****
بعد از او دیگر چه می جویم؟
Bad az oo digar cheh mijooyam?
After him, what am I looking for?
بعد از او دیگر چه می پایم؟
Bad az oo digar cheh mipâyam?
After him, what am I searching for?
اشک سردی تا بیفشانم
Ashekeh sardi ta biyafshânam
A frosty tear to shed
گور گرمی تا بیاسایم
Gooreh garmi tâ biyâsâyam
A warm grave to rest
پشت شیشه برف می بارد
Poshteh shisheh barf mibârad
Behind the window, it is snowing
پشت شیشه برف می بارد
Poshteh shisheh barf mibârad
Behind the window, it is snowing
در سکوت سینه ام دستی
Dar sokooteh sineh am dasti
In the silence of my heart, someone (or something)
دانه ی اندوه می کارد
Dâneyeh andooh mikârad
Sows the seeds of sorrow
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* In Persian culture, it is believed that when somebody suffers a shock, his/her hair will turn gray immediately. In this poem however this grayness of the hair has been compared to the whiteness of the snow.
** The snow has caused her heart to feel sorrow in a way that she has died because of it. But when she died, the snow became unfaithful to her and didn't come to her grave for reminiscence.
*** The chronological forms of these two sentences in English:
O You Love, a frozen sun, Do not you (want to) warm my heart once again?
O You Poem, a seductive demon, Did your bloom of hope wither?
**** These two lines refer to the deceased lover. In Islamic traditions, when somebody dies, the body of him/her should be put in a position with the face in the direction of Kaba in Mecca (Qibla or Kible). The direction of Kaba in Iran is always toward the south.