1.
which beautiful memory
remains inside us as much as
when our loved ones leave!
which stream will take away
the final tears of our mothers
from our memories?
time piles up corpses
and we pass slowly on.
kiss me longer
than a moment
take the poison of all this death
from my lips
This love isn’t for comfort
it is so that I can go on
i have tasted the truth of suffering
in your kisses
if we can’t return from death
we must return to life
the way a grave digger shakes the soil of the graveyard
from his clothes every night
and hoping to meet his beloved
returns home.
2.
at the party
everyone was talking about their love with passion
we were looking at each other in silence
our silence like a banknote in a piggybank
3.
you were a decorative painting
i was a cheap newspaper wrapped around you
and destiny was a rich man’s hand
4.
people say you can make a wish
if you see a new moon
i see you every night
and I make a wish every night.
5.
she supposes that
time has stolen her beauty
i look at her
she is the same
that cherry tree at the beginning of the spring
bends just a little
under the burden of her blossoms.
-
Tahereh Forsat Safai, born in 1961 in Iran, holds a Ph.D. in Translation of English Language and Literature from the University of Manchester. To date, she has translated two books. She is also a poet and short story writer. Safai has lived in England for approximately 15 years and is currently residing in Kermanshah, Iran. Her translations include Follow Your Heart by Andour Mathew (2014) and Trotting in a Gloomy Plain by Mohsen Hosseinkhani (2024).
-
Mohsen Hosseinkhani was born in Iran in 1988. He began reciting poetry professionally at cultural institutes in 2007. To date, he has published nine poetry collections in free verse, including Take Back My Childhood (2010), These Small Romances One Day Grow (2011), Rain Never Stops After You (2014), The Earth Eclipse (2015), Just Death Lives (2017), Orange Spring (2021), Trotting in a Gloomy Plain (2021), The Mountain Does Not Take Back My Voice (2023), and Guardian of the Moon (2024).
His work has been translated into Arabic, Turkish, and Kurdish by distinguished translators, and has appeared in reputable magazines. He describes his poetry as simple yet lively, rich in imagery and nostalgia. Hosseinkhani has been nominated for awards by the Glavej Festival and Shine Magazine.