Talyshi Wall Graffiti and other poems
این درد من و تو نیست
این دردِ من است و درد تو نیست
درد منم که تو نیستی
درد منم در نیستیت
– Talyshi Wall Graffiti
Translation:
This pain isn’t us,
Always mine, and never yours
I’m pained that you’re not here
I’m the pain in your nothingness
Pronunciation:
Eeen Dard-e Man-o To Nist
Een dard-e man ast-o dard-e to nist
Dard manam ke to nisti
Dard manam dar nistit.
Spark on wick vertebrae,
You’re burning me thin in want,
Darling– I breathe woe
With gluttony, hiss
At the hands daring to
Embrace my core. Melting wax
With bonfire dreams
Reaching for a
Glass of gasoline, sealed
Six lifetimes deep in
Serendipity–
Sweet death inevitable when
We’ve met before
On lines in lovers’ letters
Who’ve done it all long ago.
سوختم و ساختم و آخر سوختم
1همش برای تو
– Hopeless Candle
1 I burned and endured; and in the end, I burned. All for you. “Sookhtam-o sakhtam-o akhar sookhtam, hamash baraye to.” (return to text)
I’ve been intimate
With the ridges and cracks
In my neuron’s slipping fingers
Scar-torn synapse,
God kneaded ache into my clay,
Smoothed a thought whirlwind
In my mind field:
1!دورت بگردم
I love you how only
Two Venn diagrams understand,
Diaphragm shakes with
Beet red
Loud beating heart
Rattling my breath still
I called you “sunlight”
With Icarion naiveté,
But I miss you so,
You became every star within
This Nebula’s expanding corners.
Unfamiliar fabled death,
Heavy dosage of codeine,
I’m mad for you,
2!دیوونتم
I’ve been intimate with my pain,
I could recognize it
Dressed in your smell
I’m wary you’d taste
The bitter swell in my throat.
You tell me otherwise
With “3عزیزم” ingrained in your embrace,
Ache is kneaded knee deep in my clay
All care I know
Chucked me onto this
Glorified pottery wheel instead
But–
Your voice, Lord!
Have mercy on my soul,
I love you more than
Pain can ignore.
4.دوستت دارم
– Divaneh
1 Persian expression that literally translates to “I circle around you,” akin to saying “I adore you” (Doret Begardam) (return to text)
2 “I’m crazy about you” (Divoonatam) (return to text)
3 “My dear” (Azizam) (return to text)
4 “I love you” (Dooset Daram) (return to text)
Ghazal (she/they) is a Queer Iranian poet and activist for the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. Her work—inspired by psychological phenomena, Persian culture, and absurdism—has appeared in literary magazines such as Toronto Public Library’s Young Voices, Miracle Monocle Review, and Cathexis Northwest Press. She was a Markham Talent acting category finalist and has been featured at literary events all across Toronto. They’re also the founder of a reading series called Poe-a-Tea and a new Iranian arts collective named Baaft. You can find her decomposing in Toronto Metropolitan University’s library, or posting and lurking on Instagram: @cherry_vvine.
