Life

مذاکرات سکس

چیز مبهمی راجع به تلویزیونی که خاموش می شود،
دندانی که مسواک می شود،
نور اتاقی که تاریک میشود،
و دست مردی که پستانت را در دست می گیرد،
مرا ساکت می کند،
و سکس نمی خواهم..
چیز غریبی راجع به مردی که می پرسد،
"حاضری؟"
مرا حاضر نمی کند. >>>

پنجره ای بسوی بهار

برای برخی از ما ایرانیان مقیم درغربت که از دوستان و فامیل دور هستیم، آن نوروزهای پرهیجان و شادی آور سالهای دور، دیگر تبدیل به رد و بدل چند تلفن تبریک و شش هفت تا تعارف معمولی و خوش بشهای زورکی شده اند. دو روز اول سال نو کم و بیش و بیهوده صرف نشستن و گرفتن شماره تلفنهای ایران میشود. فیزیک ذرات یکطرف و گرفتن چهل و هشت شماره تلفن پشت سرهم یکطرف. این براستی باد در هاون کوبیدن است و اگر گهگاهی هم یک شماره جواب دهد، شخص آنطرف خط میگوید "اشتباه گرفتی جونم!" در یکی از همین شماره گیری های پارسال خانمی خوش صدا گوشی را در تهران برداشت و همان اول کار گفت "جونم"! آنور دنیا در یک کشور اثنی عشری خانمی بیمقدمه میگوید جانم، خوب شما بودید چه میکردید؟ قند در دل آب کردیم که دیگر پنجاه درصد آن درست شد و فقط مانده که کارتهای دعوت چاپ بشوند>>>

Bahar Aborted

Islamists tried to cancel the 1979 Nowruz celebrations, in order to maintain their unending cycle of mourning and fighting. The Hezbollah was determined to take over the entire government apparatus, expel the liberal technocrats from the ministries, crush the Kurdistan uprising, and reinvigorate the populace around their banner. However, their mindless repressive tactics (Chomaghdari) had alienated most political activists; and their lack-lustre fundamentalist slogans could not attract the vibrant young population. Since his arrival, ayatollah Khomeini had not helped their cause either, as his Qom lectures were normally tedious and erratic>>>

Child of mine

Aah, child of mine
The music lover
The poetry worshipper
Clever and bright
Handsome and fair
Passionate and kind
I had heard about Gitmo,
I had  heard about Abu Ghraib,
But I knew about Evin,
I knew >>>

بهاریه

۱- رفتیم عید دیدنی خانه یکی از اقوام .تلویزیون روشن است و برنامه نوروزی پخش میکند. هایده پیش درآمد سه گاه میخواند: نوروزززز آمددد . هرم دلپذیر بخاری نفتی ارج به صورتم میزند. یک ظرف پر شکلات کام جلویم است٬از این شکلاتهای چهارگوش با عکس فنجان و نعلبکی و کاغذ طلایی. یواشکی مشتم را پر شکلات میکنم و در جیبم میریزم! صاحبخانه میبیند و لبخندی میزند. خجالت میکشم. موقع بیرون آمدن دوتا ده تومانی عیدی میگیرم از آنهایی که عکس پدر وپسر رویشان است که دارند به دور دستها نگاه میکنند. >>>

Mr. Eskandari

The man who came with Agha Karim. He was fooling around with some pipes in the back of the washing machine. I soon realized he was a plumber who is working on the leaking pipe. In a split second I wanted him. I don't know why but I could feel some mysterious juices flowing throughout my body. I went to my bedroom and tried to digest what I had witnessed. He was a man around forty, with thick beard and moustache and very hairy body. I could see that because in the heat of the bathroom he had taken off his shirt and was working on the pipes in a sleeveless undershirt. I walked up and down the room to dispel any sexy thought but after a few minutes I got out of the room and passed the bathroom again to see him there. He was quite well-built and had muscular arms and biceps >>>

We take a stand

We, the undersigned scholars and academic specialists in the fields of Middle Eastern and Iranian studies, call on the Islamic Republic of Iran to put an end to human rights abuses against Bahais in Iran, which have been greatly escalating in recent months, and grant them full civil rights and freedoms as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Social and Economic Rights, to which Iran is a signatory. We note with great concern evidence of an ongoing campaign to deprive the Bahais of Iran of their fundamental human rights>>>

History for youth

When the idea of producing high quality books for young readers about Iranian history and culture was conceived, one of the first and most important goals was to get these books into public and school libraries in North America. For many reasons beyond the scope of discussion here and despite the importance of Iran in the world stage for centuries, Iranian history does not have its rightful place amongst the history of civilizations. When the book was first published, my daughter sent a copy of “Ancient Iran” to her Professor of Ancient Near Eastern studies at our local University. The response was “Great, I did not know Iran was this fascinating, maybe I should include some topics from Iran in my course”.>>>

Culprit by Default

Working in a restaurant when I was a student in the early 1970s wasn’t officially authorized under my student visa, but it provided me with a badly needed income. Earning a salary by the hour was something unheard of for me since there was no payment system like that back home in Iran. Even though the minimum wage rate in those days was not all that high in nominal terms, it was a considerable amount of money for me since I use to live on a very small stipend. In addition to its monetary reward, the job had non-monetary benefits. I was able to take home the restaurant’s unsold leftover baked potatoes every night because I believe that health department regulations did not allow the potatoes to be saved>>>

زندگی های نزیسته

من پر از این زندگی های نزیسته ام: زندگی آن دختر نوجوانی که نمی توانست موهایش را به آفتاب بنمایاند، زندگی آن دختر ده ساله ای که دلش می خواست روسری بپوشد و دست پدر به زور و با خشونت آنرا از سرش می کشید و بهش می گفت کلاغ سیاه، زندگی آن نوجوانی که نمی توانست در دریا کنار پدرش شنا کند، زندگی آن دختر یازده ساله ای که نمی توانست در کوچه ها کنار پسر های همسالش دوچرخه سواری کند، زندگی آن دختر نوجوانی که نمی توانست احساساتش را به دوستان دخترش نشان بدهد، زندگی آن دختر نوجوانی که نمی توانست دوست پسر داشته باشد، زندگی آن دختر نوجوانی که نمی توانست فعالیت سیاسی داشته باشد، زندگی آن دختری که نمی خواست دوستانش در زندانها بمیرند، زندگی آن دختری که می خواست با معلم دینی بحث کند و نمی توانست، >>>

The New Day

The Persian Prefix “no-“, as in NoRooz, is the equivalent of “new” and “now” in English since both languages are rooted in Indo-European origins. Iran has, by and large, remained quite diverse since antiquity. Norooz, which celebrates the divine creation of Zoroastrian Lord of Wisdom-Ahura Mazda who created the Universe, the Guardian Angels (Forouhars) and the holy fire-is the most cherished of all Iranian festivals. The ancient practice of observing the commencement of the spring season was not necessarily reserved to Iranians (Persians); many neighboring nations have and continue observing it>>>

Marla and Me

One night after work around 3.30 in the morning I just missed talking to her so much, when I got home, I called and left her a message “Marla, I miss you and Doug so much, I miss our Thursday-night dinners in your garden, I miss our deep conversations, I miss helping you trim those beautiful Roses. I realized that I never told you how much I love you and how valuable you have been in my life. I just want to tell you that I appreciate your being in my life, I appreciate all you have done for me, I should have said it every time we talked but I didn’t know then that friends like you are rare to find. Thanks for being there for me all those lonely years.”>>>

کوچه های بی عبور

باید ترا پیدا کنم تا قبل از اینکه دیر بشود! باید گردش بالهای ذهنم را روغن کاری کنم تا به وقت گردش ملخک های بادبان کاغذی ام به سائیدگی دچار نشوم .باید قبل از اینکه گم ات می کردم خوب فکر می کردم تا به وقت گشتن سوراخ و سنبه های راه رفته ات پیدا و ناپیدا نشود دست و دلم. باید محکم بغلت می کردم و نمی گذاشتم از کف انگشت هایم بلغزی و مثل آب در کف ماسه ای فرو بروی و نشانه های خشک شدنت هم معلوم نشود بر دست های خاک- ماسه های من! خوب یادم مانده که وقتی در ورای خاک - ماسه های نرم دست هایت را رها کردم لحظه ای به آسمان نگاه کردم و خدای مهربان حتی نگاهم نکر>>>

Etoile

Paris – not a word, but a sentence, a statement – nay, a novel, a trilogy – an anthology, an intricate and detailed mélange of stories, short and long, events unraveling along winding roads and narrow sidewalks – lives, moments, glimpses of miracles – definite and infinite, eternal and ephemeral. Paris more than words – much more. The plane approaches Charles De Gaulle airport. Captain’s voice comes on to announce the descent of the Air France flight from Washington to the City of Lights. It is close to 6 a.m. local time as I peek out of the window to watch the Femme Fatale wink and welcome me into her arms once more>>>