01 October 2009

Simin Behbahani - Tik...tak, tik...tak

A poem by Simin Behbahani, the Lioness of Iran


Tik...tak and tik...tak, O how the moment flies?
Compelled, humble and obedient it flies.
- Stay, stay my life! give a respite... O God!
Without farewell, wordless and even a look it flies.
Drop by drop like the spring, it drops by moments,
Month turns to year, year turns to month and flies.
At the golden twilight the sun rises,
With the last bloody setting, sinks in well and flies.
When I lay the silvery sleep over my dream,
A black sleep arrives, a white dream flies;
My life like the curtain from alternate white and black
Has become stripped and still stripped it flies.
She who goes is me, I won't return,
Ah me, tell time that untimely it flies!
My pulse is tired, tired from counting ,
The moments of my life, ah... ah time flies!

From Caroun.com. Translated by M Alexandrian

6 comments:

James Higham said...

This is the sort of thing to stick in the people's memory.

jams o donnell said...

It certainly will!

Claude said...

Tik...tak. And it's gone...

jams o donnell said...

It certainly is Claudia

Bengbeng said...

Ah me, tell time that untimely it flies!
My pulse is tired, tired from counting ,
The moments of my life, ah... ah time flies!
-> i love reading this! more please in time to come i hope

jams o donnell said...

I certainly will Bengbeng. Glad you like it