In This Deadend
Ahmad Shamlou
They smell your breath.
You better not have said, "I love you."
They smell your heart.
These are strange times, darling...
And they flog
love
at the roadblock.
We had better hide love in the closet...
In this crooked dead end and twisting chill,
they feed the fire
with the kindling of song and poetry.
Do not risk a thought.
These are strange times, darling...
He who knocks on the door at midnight
has come to kill the light.
We had better hide light in the closet...
Those there are butchers
stationed at the crossroads
with bloody clubs and cleavers.
These are strange times, darling...
And they excise smiles from lips
and songs from mouths.
We had better hide joy in the closet...
Canaries barbecued
on a fire of lilies and jasmine,
these are strange times, darling...
Satan drunk with victory
sits at our funeral feast.
We had better hide God in the closet
Translated by:M. C. Hillmann
Ahmad Shamlou - Ahmad Shamlou (December 12, 1925 - July 23, 2000)is Iran's most celebrated contemporary poet. Shamlou was prominent
both as a great historical literary figure and as a major poet. He was a journalist,
a playwright, a translator and a broadcaster. His historical contribution to
the reformation of Persian poetry has been the subject of many books. His poetry
has been translated into several languages, however it remains a relatively
undiscovered treasure in the West. He was a humanist and a socially minded intellectual
who has skillfully woven personal love and affection together with his social
attitudes. He lived always with hope and passion for justice.
