If we were Indians,
I wonder what would be your name:
“Flame in her eyes”?
Or
“Her hair like falls”?
Or
“Gone with the night”?
...
If we were Indians,
I would have ridden a white horse
Chasing the wildest buffalo of the herd
Not for the sake of hunting, you know
But to taste it again
How hard was to capture your soul
...
If we were Indians,
We would have set up our tent
In the furthest dune of the desert
Waiting for the storm to come
I would know when the time comes
I should let you go....
If we were Indians,
I would have danced around the fire
When the night prevail
Spelling your mystic name to the wind
Calling you to no avail!
...
If we just were Indians....
November 2009
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......
by yolanda on Mon Nov 16, 2009 07:02 PM PSTThank you! Your post cracked me up! Oh My Gosh! My name is getting longer! I just re-loaded my old avatar, the cactus flower is from my garden. If you look closely, you will see a grasshopper inside the cactus flower. I have many species of cacti in my garden. As you know, cacti are low-maintenance, you don't have to do too much to keep them alive!
Thank you for everything!
Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda)
Cactus in the Desert
huh??
by persian westender on Mon Nov 16, 2009 05:25 PM PSTSo what about the cactus all of a sudden? It goes much better with your avatar! I suggest in order to integrate all the etymological efforts made here, we call you “heart-tranquilizing purple cactus” Its a bit too long, I know, but it is multi-cultural instead :-)) just kidding,
I agree, Violet(banafsheh) is the best.
.....
by yolanda on Mon Nov 16, 2009 06:56 PM PSTMouse,
You are right!
Tinkie Winkie was called a gay:
//www.flickr.com/photos/abrooklynlad/449622463/
That is too much, but gays have their rights, too...... Jerry Falwell is dead!
My 1st name means "Easy-going and tolerant". I respect everyone: young, old, rich, poor, male, female, Shia, Sunni, Christians, Muslims, Atheists, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the needy, the homeless, powerful, single, married, divorced, gay and straight.
thanks,
Delaram Banafsheh
One of the tele-tubbies was purple too and he was singled out as
by Anonymouse on Mon Nov 16, 2009 05:09 PM PSTOne of the tele-tubbies was purple too and he was singled out as gay by Jerry Falwell which brought outrage by many! Remember that?!
Everything is sacred.
....
by yolanda on Mon Nov 16, 2009 06:52 PM PSTHi Mouse,
You are right, Banafsheh is the translation for "Yolanda". Yolanda is a greek name meaning "Violet", a type of purple plant.
//babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning_of_Yolanda.html
//www.bing.com/images/search?q=violet&FORM=IGRE#
I think Hamid did a great job translating "Yolanda" into Banafsheh. I am very satisfied. I am trying not to think of "stomach" for Delaram. :O)))
I love purple colors, even lavender and lilac colors. They are very feminine colors except when it was used on Barney!
Delaram about the Banafshe part? Banafshe = purple-ish
by Anonymouse on Mon Nov 16, 2009 04:44 PM PSTBanafshe is a flower but it also means purple-ish as in purple color. Do you also like purple?
Everything is sacred.
......
by yolanda on Mon Nov 16, 2009 04:42 PM PSTHi! Dr. Esther,
"Stars in her eyes", but who is "her"?
You cracked me up again 'cause you force me to choose between "lost heart" and "upset stomach"...I thought you were going to make me choose between "kind heart" and "upset stomach". LOL!!!! I really try not to connect my name with "stomach".....LOL!
I have to say that if I am a star, I am the lackluster star, 'cause I have not accomplished much....but I do count my blessings.
Take care!
Delaram Banafsheh
Delaram Banafsheh
by Esther on Mon Nov 16, 2009 04:30 PM PSTI agree, "quiet heart" does sound better than "calm stomach", and it is very appropriate for you. I'm happy you like your Persian names. :) So which do you think is worse - lost heart or upset stomach? ;) I'm still trying to recover from 11/11 and my proliferating identities. Let's let Esther just be Esther. She can try to keep Setareh (QoDs) under control. And in solidarity with universal stars, my Indian name will be "Stars in her eyes."
......
by yolanda on Mon Nov 16, 2009 03:26 PM PSTHi Dr. Esther,
I think "quiet-hearted" sounds way better than "calm stomach". Heart can refer to personality or soul, not just the bloody heart in the biological sense. I feel pretty good with my Persian 1st name. It is a very rewarding day for me 'cause I got a Persian name, it is sooo cool!
take care!
I look forward to the Vancouver Winter Games
Delaram Banafsheh
Heart/stomach & Olympics
by Esther on Mon Nov 16, 2009 02:12 PM PSTI think the heart/stomach connection exists in English, too. For example, there is the saying that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach (this may or may not apply in certain cases of tahdig or ghormeh sabzi).
As for the Olympics, I worry about what they will do to Whistler, too. I think Persian Westender will just have to keep writing poems and Setareh C. will just have to keep reading them, so that the snow will melt and roses will come up. Let them try to ski in that!
Zendeh baad sher-e-Persian Westender!
Yes Quiet Hearted is a better translation for Delaram
by Anonymouse on Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:42 PM PSTMy translation was just a one to one translation. Del in Farsi means both heart and stomach!
Everything is sacred.
Hamid Taghavi: Don’t
by persian westender on Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:35 PM PSTHamid Taghavi: Don’t get disappointed by smell of ghormeh sabzi and tahdig sookhteh Sir, even those can inspire you for poetry. I share the same concerns over ruining impacts of Olympics on natural environment of Whistler and somewhat agree with this idea mentioned by Azadeh Azad: //iranian.com/main/2009/nov/olympic-blunder
Thank you for reading.
PS: Long live Universal Stars and Cactuses and Yellow tiny Iron horses...
,,,,,,
by yolanda on Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:26 PM PSTHI! Mouse,
My birth 1st name means "Easy-going and tolerant" in my native language, Hamid came up with "Delaram" in Farsi meaning "quiet hearted", I like it, now you are telling me that "Delaram" means "calm stomach"....I am having stomach up-set over my Persian name :O)))
My Indian name, "Cactus in the desert", is totally separate from my 1st name and my middle name, Yolanda.
Thank you for asking!
If your Indian name is Smiles wide, my Indian name should be "Laugh Loud!"
melting the ice!
by Setareh Cheshmakzan on Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:24 AM PSTPersian Westerner jan, The mountain is in its place, your poem melted the snow and revealed the rose underneath - for the time being, anyway;)
My Indian name would be Smiles Wide ;-)
by Anonymouse on Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:15 AM PSTEverything is sacred.
Westender
by Hamid Taghavi on Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:10 AM PSTI enjoyed reading your soothing poem. I should not have read the comments though as now my mind is running wild with what would happen if Iranians adopted Indian naming conventions. As for the mention of Vancouver, some day I'll retire there and live in Whistler by one of the lakes where every new day will be a poem in itself, unless of course the neighbors happen to be "burns tahdig" and "smells of ghorme sabzi". My only fear is the winter Olympics will make the town so popular it'll spoil its unique beauty.
While on this subject, don't forget the Iranian Sitting Bull!
by Anonymouse on Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:58 AM PST//iranian.com/main/singlepage/2008/sitting-bull
By the way Yolanda, Delaram Banafsheh does not mean "Cactus in the desert", Delaram means calm stomach and Banafsheh is the flower pansies. So it means calm pansies. Or are you proposing a long name?!
Everything is sacred.
Setareh (QoDs) says ...
by Esther on Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:56 AM PSTMarg bar universal blades! Zendeh baad a universe of noses! (I'm still working on my Indian alterego, but meanwhile, Setareh will start identifying herself as Setareh (QoDs) because she would like to keep her title, she would like to distinguish herself from the other Setarehs on this site (or at least allow them to distinguish themselves from her), and she would like to support universal solidarity while acknowledging her own origins which are neither Iranian, nor Gazan, nor Lebanese, nor Israeli.)
Persian Westender, Vancouver is my hometown, so if you were still living there, I would be a bit jealous, because I miss it. And yes, you seem more the Majnoon type (wailing in the desert) than the white horse type!
Thank you Jahanshah
by persian westender on Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:49 AM PSTHowever, my day kinda ruined when i saw one of the contributers left the site for good (allegedly).
cheers
......
by yolanda on Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:49 AM PSTYour poem is very unique 'cause I don't remember seeing anyone writing about Indians. I just read your poem one more time, "Buffalo" caught my attention. I ate a buffalo burger once outside Bryce National park, the meat was really lean.....lately I found out that you can get buffalo burgers from Trader Joe's...
thanks again for your beautiful poem
Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda), AKA, "Cactus in the desert"
P.S. Indian names are beautiful 'cause they have meanings, like "Sitting bull", "Crazy horse", "White eagle"........hopefully nobody's name is "Mad cow"
Wonderful
by Jahanshah Javid on Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:37 AM PSTMade my day. Maybe my month! Very beautiful. Everything you write hits the mark.
The comments
by persian westender on Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:29 AM PSTSetareh : I didn’t know my poem could turn mountains to roses,..(If I am not wrong your avatar was the Damavand mountain and that mountain for a while used to be my avatar too). Thanks for your kind words.
Anonymouse: The universal name could be something like “gone with the blade”. .......
Yes..size matters in this case reversely! Thanks for reading.
Another Setareh: I laughed my ass off. “If we were east Indians” probably my poem would be very similar to the lyrics of that song! But that guy with the white horse in the middle of a modern western city is so awkward! that wouldn’t be me, though I should not underestimate the strength of bollywood style romance!..... I no more live in Vancouver. But I kept the name. I will keep in my mind to visit the museum, anytime I am there. Thank you for the suggestions and reading the blog.
Yolanda: In the recent uprising, Iranians hopefully are trying to exchange “marg bars”(down with)s with “zendeh baad”s(long live)s, so yeah... zendeh baad natural boobs, zendeh baad natural nose,...zendeh baad wrinkles all over the place...size doesn’t matter and ...so forth...
Anahid: I appreciate your interests to my works very much, but I am not that forootan, “hanooz kesi oon rooie sage mon ro nadideh”! whaff ...whafff!
Dear persian westender, what an excellent poem you have written
by Anahid Hojjati on Mon Nov 16, 2009 08:50 AM PSTDear PW, sometimes I have trouble complimenting your work since couple times after my compliments, you were so "Forootan" that you almost made me feel guilty about praising your work. But seriously, I love your poem. One of your best work and also one of the best on this web site.
.....
by yolanda on Mon Nov 16, 2009 09:35 AM PSTMarg bar breast implants and Marg bar cosmetic surgery!
thanks,
Delaram Banafsheh (Yolanda) AKA "Cactus in the desert"
How about Universal Nose?!
by Anonymouse on Mon Nov 16, 2009 07:42 AM PSTEverything is sacred.
Non-anonynose
by Esther on Mon Nov 16, 2009 07:23 AM PSTMarg bar nose jobs! Zendeh bad Eagle Nose! (Okay, Setareh has pretty much exhausted the limits of her Farsi and really must get back to work now.)
In a parallel universe ...
by Esther on Mon Nov 16, 2009 07:15 AM PSTYolanda and I have been acquiring Persian names (Setareh, mine is also Setareh :).
Persian Westender, I like your poem, too! The funny thing is that until you got to the part about the buffalo, I thought you meant East Indians. When I got to the part about the white horse, I had this picture in my head: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SkWCf46FNo (If you are really interested, you can find the movie description and translated lyrics here: //www.bollyfm.net/bollyfm/mid/1232/movie-translyrics.html).
Persian Westender, I seem to recall from your previous posts that you live in Vancouver (hence "Westender" ;). If you haven't been, you should visit the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. It may not help with matters of the heart, but it is great for matters (non-East) Indian. :)
Eagle Nose! Few nose related ones!
by Anonymouse on Mon Nov 16, 2009 06:40 AM PSTNice poem and interesting take. Since nose jobs are so popular it has become our national obsession, so any nose related name has a vote! While on this subject of nose jobs, it makes everyone look the same, doesn't it?
Everything is sacred.
Persian Westerner - What can I say?!
by Setareh Cheshmakzan on Mon Nov 16, 2009 06:15 AM PSTYou pinned me down to read a poem to the end and more still, to love it!! I am usually too restless for that. What beauty .... Even my avatar has melted ;)
.....
by yolanda on Sun Nov 15, 2009 11:13 PM PSTThank you for the suggested names, your suggestions cracked me up!
thanks,