In the Struggle of the Mirror and the Image is a poem by Ahmad Shamlou, the renowned Iranian poet, translated by me. (I have translated and published quite a few of Ahmad Shamlou poems on Sinarium.) I don't want to go into details to decipher this poem for the readers, as poetry is something to be understood by the readers themselves; but it truly makes me think of the current situation of the world, and my country (Iran) specifically. There are the governments and the "big brothers" who claim to fight for the wellbeing of the world, while in reality, all they do is to make life more miserable for the masses.
The Earth took the shape of human's hands
when each wasteland
turned into a garden or a yard.
And the wastewater
all
streamed down into the ponds.
Because the human
had forged the shape of their hands
into nature.
□
From what creed are you?
Say it,
you who shout slogans!_
Except to blatantly lecture
the chained oppressed,
from behind the shield of the tyrants;
or to throw chunks of stones
from your hight rooftops
down onto the battle streets,
and let them fall on whoever's head...
Though you fan the flames of every fight,
you are neither truly allied with one
nor are you bluntly at war with another.
From what creed are you?
Say it,
You who profess to be the human's foster parents!_
What brand
on the face of the earth
is of your art?
or what classroom in this school?
زمین به هیأتِ دستانِ انسان درآمد
هنگامی که هر برهوت
بُستانی شد و باغی.
و هرزابه‌ها
هریک
راهیِ برکه‌یی شد
چرا که آدمی
طرحِ انگشتانش را
با طبیعت در میان نهاده بود.
□
از کدامین فرقه‌اید؟
بگویید،
شما که فریاد بر می‌دارید! –
به جز آن که سرکوفتگانِ بسته دست را، به وقاحت
در سایه‌ی ظفرمندان
رجزی بخوانید،
یا که در معرکه‌ی جدال
از بامِ بلندِ خانه‌ی خویش
سنگ‌پاره‌ای بپرانید
تا بر سرِ کدامین کس فرود آید.
که اگرچه میدان‌دارِ هر میدان‌اید،
نه کسی را به صداقت یارید
نه کسی را به صراحت دشمن می‌دارید.
از کدامین فرقه‌اید؟
بگویید،
شما که پرستارِ انسان باز می‌نمایید! –
کدامین داغ
بر چهره‌ی خاک
از دست‌کارِ شماست؟
یا کدامین حجره‌ی این مدرسه؟
"In the Struggle of the Mirror and the Image (2)"
Original title: «در جدال آیینه و تصویر»
By Ahmad Shamlou
Translated by Sina Ghasemi
Read the full article
