One Window

Abstract

New in theMLA series Options forTeaching TEACHING WORLD LITERATURE Edited byDavid Damrosch "The volume is a tour de force. An extraordinarily insightful, engaging, and comprehensive book that richly addresses the monumentally challenging problem of designing and teaching courses inworld literature ?Allen Webb Western Michigan University Now available ivni & 432pp. Cloth 978-1-60329-033-3 $44.00 IPaper 978-1-60329-034-0 $22.00 Modern Language Association MLA 646 576-5161 Fax 646 576-5160 www.mla.org One Window Forough Farokhzad One window forseeing One window forhearing One window that looks like the round opening of awell Which ends at theheart of theearth And opens intoa vast space of gentle, blue, rippling color One window thatevery night fillsup the small hands of loneliness With theboundless scent of the stars Only fromhere is itpossible to invite the sun To come and play among theexiled geranium flowers One window is enough for me I come from the land ofdolls From beneath theshade ofpaper trees From a garden ina picture book From thedry seasons containing thebarren experiences of friendshipand love From theunpaved roads of innocence From thegrowing yearswhen the faded lettersof the alphabet hung Behind the tubercular school desks From the moment thatchildren could write The word "stone" on theblackboard And the swallows flew ina great rush off thebranches of theold tree I come frominbetween the roots of carnivorous plants And my mind Is still filled with the frighteningsound of thebutterfly That with a pin Has been crucified inside of a book POETRY When my faith was hanging by the thinrope of justice And all over thecity The lights were tearing me topieces They coveredmy pure childlike vision With thedark blindfold of law And from my frighteneddreams Fountains ofblood spilled from my temples When my lifeno longermeant anything Other than the ticktockof a clock I realized, Imust, Imust, Imust Love madly One window is enough for me One window forthe moment of realization, revelation, contemplation The walnut seedling has now gotten tall enough To explain to itsyoung leaves about the meaning of awall Ask the mirror The name of your Savior If theground shaking beneath your feet Isnot lonelier thanyou? The prophets brought prophesies ofdestruction With them intoour century These ceaseless explosions The poisonous mushroom clouds Aren't these the echo of thoseholy verses? Oh friend,oh brother,oh of likeblood When you reach the moon Write down thehistory of thegenocide of flowers Dreams always fall fromtheheight of their inexperience And die I smell a four-leafclover Itgrows over thegravestone of old thoughts Is that woman lying in thegrave Buried in the white cloth ofher own expectation and innocence My youth? Will I climb the stairsofmy own curiosity again And reachGod who strollsupstairs on the roofof the house? Ihave a feeling that timehas slipped by Ihave a feeling thatonemoment ismy share in thepages ofhistory Ihave a feeling that the tabletopmarks the falsedistance Between my hair and thehands of thisgrieving stranger Talk to me Tell me whether theperson who gives you thegiftof life Whether they want anything else fromyou Other than foryou to feelalive? Say something to me I am standing here under the shelterof thewindow I am linked to the sun Translation from the Persian By Meetra A Sofia Forough Farokhzad (1935-67) isone of Iran'smost famous poets and filmmakers; she has been called "Persia's best poet since the classical period of the fifteenth century" (Massud Farzan, Books Abroad, Autumn 1968). Farokhzad was not only a polemical figure during her lifetime, but since her untimely death ina car accident at the age of thirty-two, her poetry has come to symbolize a powerful anthem for freedom. Though herwork was banned in Iran formany years, Farokhzad's five books of poetry have sold over a million copies worldwide. Editorial note: From If I Were God, copyright ? 2008 by Meetra A. Sofia. For more on Farokhzad's poetry, see Books Abroad 42:4 (Autumn 1968),539-41, andWLT663 (Summer1992),421-27. Meetra A. Sofia isa writer, artist, poet, translator, and filmmaker who livesoutside ofWashington, DC. She isthe first to have translated much of Farokhzad's poetry, letters, and writing into English as part of her forthcoming book entitled If I Were God...