سیزده به در نحس

من مثل آن شاعری هستم که بر خلاف بقیه اصلاً بلبل را خوش آواز نمی دانست و احتمالاً تره جعفری و شنبلیله را هم بر دیدن گل های رز و گلایل و کاملیا ترجیح میداد. از همان روز ازل معتقد بودم که ماندن در خانه در روز سیزده فروردین نه تنها نحسی ندارد بلکه به علل گوناگون فواید زیادی به قول قدما بر آن مترتب است. ازجمله ایمنی اعضای خانواده در اثر حوادث گوناگون، صرفه جوئی در هزینه های خورد و خوراک و صد البته خوابیدن راحت بعد از صرف نهار در هوای بهاری و آن هم در تخت خوابی که همیشه عادت به استرحت برروی آن دارم. ولی چه کنم که نوعی دموکراسی کمونیستی در منزل ما بر قرار است و آن هم اینکه وقتی همه عقاید خود را در خصوص برنامه سیزده به در گفتند، این نظر عیال بنده است که صائب بوده و صد البته دلایل منطقی و عاطفی و اقتصادی و اجتماعی فراوانی برای توجیه آنها می توان ارائه نمود>>>

کفشها

برابرم چند تن تنها نشسته اند
هر کدام در کفشی سبکبار شده اند
آنسو
کفشی افسون شده چرم دفتر شعری
که روزی قیمتی چشمگیر داشت
اینسو
کفش لاستیکی خودکام دفتری
با کابوس واکس سنت مرور می شود >>>

Little Armenia

The king hung you like a crucifix
From the neck of my city, Isfahan:
With your cathedral and cobblestones
With your taverns and goldsmiths
And your blushing daughters.
The city remained apart from you
Lying beyond Zaiandeh River. >>>

Atomic Akhond

A few years ago, Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi shocked the Islamic Republic’s inner circles with this performance conducted in front of flashing cameras and rolling camcorders. Publicly, the conservatives admired his selflessness but envied his prudence behind closed doors; the moderates snickered and dismissed the news of the event with curt replies. The shock, however, must not be attributed to the publicly captured humility of any ayatollah towards the Supreme Leader. On the contrary, such scenes are entirely common and dully expected. What caused the jolt was not the act itself but the stature of the man behind the act, his existing ominous authority and decisive clout, and more importantly, the absence of any apparent gain bestowed upon him>>>

My absence

Mehrabad airport is crowded. Everybody seems in a rush to leave Iran. The air is dry. It’s the end of September, but the heat belongs to July. I push my valise on the floor, over the remaining pile of yesterday’s newspapers. A few pages are dragged with my suitcase. I stop pushing. I’m too tired. As the sweat runs over my forehead, I remember the exact moment when the three Pasdars raided the house last night. I wipe the sweat and wish I could wipe the tears off my mother’s face as she stood there at the center of the living room with all the eyes set on her. My mother, the woman who knows how to hide behind a serene smile, even when there’s a thunderstorm blowing her mind away>>>

Just take a wild guess

Bita: "I thought I would never be able to take a sauna again after what happened. On our way up here, I thought I would burst into tears, but I’m only feeling numb."

Ebi: "Well, you know, it's been more than a year now. You can’t just go on being depressed and miserable for the rest of your life. What happened, happened. We should start a new life all over again. I like to see us as happy as before."

Bita: "Yeah, before Shirin's death."

Ebi: "No! I mean like when we got married, long before she was born." >>>

Rose in spring

O rose, come and dance
On my heart as its soil
Has been dry
For too long.
O moon, come and smile
As there are a thousand
Willing flirtatious ones at
The door, these shining stars >>>

گوید به من

از درد روزگار, ناچار, میکند شادی
چونکه الا عشق, ماند کدام بازی؟

ولی در آغوش هر زن میگیرد بهانه
چونکه نیست در وجودش عشق جاودانه

عشق جاودانه چیست؟ همان عشق خدای
که در عمق خود باید کرد پیدای >>>

The bluff that never stops giving?

In an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic, incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to have told President Barack Obama that either America stops Iran or Israel will. Not surprisingly, the interview sparked quite a controversy and only a day later, General David Petreus told the Senate Arms Services Committee that "the Israeli government may ultimately see itself so threatened by the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon that it would take preemptive military action to derail or delay it." So once again, in spite of President Obama's best efforts, the military option was put back on the table and the atmosphere for dealing with Iran was turned into "Do as we say - or else...">>>

The Gilded Cage

I fish for a pen in my purse and find one tucked in between a diaper, a pack of gum and bills. I leaf through the forms. The first few questions are easy – name, address, contact number. The next part has me staring into the abyss of the soul for what seems to be an eternity: “Name of person you want protection from.” “Did the person commit any acts of violence or threaten to commit any acts of violence against you? If yes, describe those acts or threats”. The woman next to me sporting a blond frizz, a deep gash on her right cheek and a red blotchy nose, offers me the box of tissues. “Here - take one – wipe your face sweetheart – he ain’t worth it”. She hands me a mint >>>

Recession Mesession

This is by far the best way to improve your financial situation. You can move to a country with a maid who will cook and clean for you all for the price of renting out your apartment. If you do not have an apartment you can work as a maid or cleaner in a developing country. The fact that you speak English and know the difference between wipe and smear will stand you in good stead. Too many cleaners in third world countries smudge rather than blitz. There is of course a moral issue – what happens to the native workers if we go getting their jobs? Screw them. How many third world people have come to the West over the years and taken our jobs here? It’s payback time>>>

خداحافظ، حقوق بشر

سیاست خارجی آمریكا تحت ریاست آقای اوباما تغییر فاحشی كرده است و یكی از موارد این تغییر به كنار رفتن دموكراسی و حقوق بشر به عنوان یك ركن اساسی سیاست خارجی آمریكا است. در سه دهه گذشته،‌ یعنی از جیمی‌كارتر تا جورج بوش پسر، تأكید بر حقوق بشر همواره در متن سیاست خارجی آمریكا قرار داشته است. این تغییر اساسی بخشی از گردش تاریخی‌ سیاست خارجی آمریكا و نگاه تازه آن به جهان و به خصوص جهان سوم است. برای آقای اوباما به عنوان رییس جمهور آمریكا طبیعتا رفاه و امنیت (برای آمریكا) و صلح جهانی در درجه اول قرار دارند، و سیاست خارجی‌ آمریكا عمدتا حول این اهداف شكل می‌گیرند. مقولاتی از قبیل دموكراسی و حقوق بشر در كشورهای دیگر جهان البته مثل همیشه مورد توجه رهبران آمریكا قرار می‌گیرند، ولی بر خلاف گذشته در دولت اوباما به این امر تظاهر چندانی نخواهد شد>>>