Archive Sections: letters | music | index | features | photos | arts/lit | satire Find Iranian singles today!
Life

A drop of humanity
Photo essay: He was far too excited to notice a drop of the liquid gliding down to the ground

Shahireh Sharif
June 13, 2007
iranian.com

Moonlight took mercy on the little boy and spread itself all over the open dump yard. The boy was standing next to the fence, listening and looking around making sure that he had not been followed. His little heart was beating fast and his chest was rapidly moving up and down. There was no one else about. He took a deep breath and pushed his left shoulder through the wooden panels of the fence; the rest of his thin body followed. Once he got to the other side, he ran away from the yard whilst his left hand was clenched tightly to the front of his shirt >>> continue

Click on photo to see 31

Click on photo to see 31

Photos
(1) (5) (10) (15) (20) (25) (31)

He ran for a while, but was still breathing the air filled with the unbearable smell of rotten litter. His fingers were still sore with countless cuts caused by rummaging amongst the trash. But his sun-burnt face was glowing. The shine was even visible through layers of dirt and black marks which covered his entire face. His eyes were wide open and his face was garnished with a smile. The boy’s life was an enactment of the proverb “one man's trash is another man's treasure”.  To him the dump land was a source of existence, his life depended on it. He was very lucky to be living close to the yard and for that he was always grateful! Still he could not believe his luck this time; he was enchanted by what he had found.

He came to a junction, looked both ways and once more made sure that he was alone. He turned left and hid away behind a skip. Here for the first time after making his discovery amongst the pile of rubbish he dared to unfurl his shirt. He had to make sure that it was still there. He let out a quiet groan as his eyes feasted on the shinny gummy liquid concealed in his shirt. Once he was reassured, he pushed the gilded gel back to the centre of the depression formed by gathering the corners of his shirt together.

He was far too excited to notice a drop of the liquid gliding down to the ground. This was then immediately sucked up by earth the way that it absorbs water after a period of drought. The drop penetrated deep in the ground and fertilized life. Affection was conceived and on its birth the whole world came together like lovers do. Comment

 

COMMENT
For letters section
To Shahireh Sharif

ALSO
Shahireh Sharif
Features

RELATED
Diaspora

Poetry

The Splendour of Iran
With 1,250 newly commissioned photographs

 

© Copyright 1995-2013, Iranian LLC.   |    User Agreement and Privacy Policy   |    Rights and Permissions