Sohrab Sepehri Poetry

Roshani, Man, Gol, Ab (Illumination, Me, Flower, Water)
Sohrab Sepehri

Illumination, Me, Flower, Water
Translation by Ahreeman X

A cloudless sky,
no breath of wind,
I sit beside the courtyard pool,
the slow stirrings of the goldfish,
the illumination, me, the flower and the water …
the purity in cluster of life.

My mother is picking sweet basil leaves.
Bread, feta cheese and basil,
a cloudless sky,
the moist satin of the petunia blossoms.
The near salvation, tucked between the leaves of the courtyard flowers.
The light in the brass bowl, pours out such caresses.
The ladder brings the morning down,
from the top of the high walls,
and spreads it all over the ground.
Behind every element's secret smile,
there exists a small window in time's encircling wall,
through which my face appears.

There are things I do not know,
but if I pluck that sprig, I know that I will die.
I will rise up to the zenith,
wings and feathers are sprouting from me.
I see a way in the darkness, I am full of lanterns.
I am full of the light and sand,
full of the forest and trees.

I am full of the road, the bridge, the river and the waves.
I am full of the shadow of a leaf on the water,
But so lonely is my internal soul!