Haft Seen - Shakila Azizzada

If it weren’t for the clouds,

I could

pick the stars

one by one

from this brief sky,

hang them

in your ever ruffled hair

and hear

you saying:

 

‘I’m like a silk rug –

the older it gets,

the lovelier it grows,

even if

two or three naughty kids

peed on it.’

 

Am I finally here?

 

Then let me spread

the Haft Seen tablecloth

in the middle of Dam Platz.

 

Even if it rains,

The Unknown Soldier

and a flock of pigeons

will be my guests.

---

Shakila Azizzada (born 1964) Afghanistan

Translated by Zuzanna Olszewska and Mimi Khalvati

Source: Poetry Translation Centre