I’m Wrong, You’re Right, Alright?

Over 30 years ago in Tehran, I worked with an American who was a native of Virginia and had spent most of his life in the Middle East working on engineering projects. He had lived and worked in such countries as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and many Persian Gulf States. We used to discuss many topics from life in America to historical sites in Iran, and of course politics. He showed a great deal of interest in Iran and the people of Middle East. I asked him after spending so many years in Iran and the region, what he thought was the biggest problem facing the people? His answer amazed me to this date>>>

Believe

I just finished reading yet another article regarding the Bahai faith in the Iranian. It seems as if the more I read about such topics, the more I realize how closed-minded we remain. I do not practice any organized religion, yet I do respect them all for bringing peace to a majority of mankind. Years ago, when my children asked me about my faith and wanted to know what theirs should be, I told them I believe in a supreme power, one far beyond man's understanding. And, when they wanted to know to whom I prayed, my response began with stories of the old telephone system and how people needed an operator to be connected.>>>

شنا

شنبه صبح وقتی داشتم ناهار درست می کردم، افشین زنگ زد و گفت سرما خورده نمیتونه بیاد. گفتم "تو چله’ تابستون چه وقت سرماخوردگیه، طفلکی!" سر ظهر آمد. پسر بیست و پنج شش ساله’ خوش قد و بالایی بود و موهاشو پشت سرش دمب اسبی کرده بود. نهار آوردم. یک پارچ سانگریای خوشرنگ و خوشمزه هم درست کرده بودم که با هم می خوردیم و گپ میزدیم. صحبتمان بعد از نهار به خانواده اش و تحصیلش کشید. دانشجوی دکترا بود. تعجب کردم. گفتم حتما خیلی باهوشی! لبخند خجولی زد. نمیدونم چرا شیطون رفته بود زیر پوستم و دلم می خواست سر بسرش بذارم. پرسید "افشین خان نمیان؟" تازه یادم افتاد بهش بگم افشین سرما خورده. یادم آمد بهش گفته بودم میتونه بره استخر. گفتم "دلت می خواد بری شنا؟" گفت "تنهایی؟ نه." گفتم "باشه منم باهات میام." >>>

Handwriting

You cross your 't's and dot your 'i's
And there is no missing hump in your 'm's
You loop your 'y's, 'j'  and 'g's
And your words do not fall below the lines
Your paper shines like marble
And your words are deeply etched
As if you were a rock climber
Who pounds the nail in the rock
To make steady footholds >>>

One Million signs of pain

On the splendid plateau of my land
For the last thirty years of choked breath
Cloaked bearded men of Islamic brand
Time-traveller tyrants from old Arabia
Have planted phallic bars of Sharia Law
And celebrated dark demons of deceit
With dictators of worst kind in command >>>

Soghra

I climbed the bed and enjoyed the pleasant smell of the clean sheets. I waited to fall asleep. I turned right and turned left. I lay on my back and on my belly. I counted imaginary sheep jumping over an imaginary fence. “Close your eyes and don’t think,” was Mother’s cure for insomnia on stormy nights. But tonight, I couldn’t stop thinking. Mother’s desired blankness fit into another life. I kept my eyes shut, but I knew even if I looked, I wasn’t going to find those ghastly ghosts anymore. My brain, ravaged by thoughts. Astara, my beach, my childhood, gone. The old house, my well, my backyard destroyed. My deev, vanished. My Danny, dead>>>

غنچه

وقتی برادربزرگم ازدواج کرد، شانزده هفده سالش بود. این را از بزرگ تر ها که با هم حرف می زدند متوجه شدم. اما بزرگتر نشان می داد. "...عباس، این پسر شانزده هفده سالش بیشتر نیست، چطورداری زیر بارزن گرفتنش می روی؟ " و عباس که پدر من هم بود، بیشتر مواقع جوابی نمی داد. ولی یکی دو بار شنیدم که گفت" " ...چکار کنم، شاشش کف کرده...اگر برایش زن نگیرم می ترسم مریض بشود..." تا مدت ها نمی دانستم که چرا اگر زن نگیرد مریض میشود. یک بار دیگر که باز دراین مورد صحبت میکردند، حاج آقا صابونچی، گفت: " اوس عباس، مریض میشه چیه؟ مگه همه جوون هائی که زن ندارن مریض میشن؟ " و پدرم گفت تو شهر ما " دوب " اش پر از خانم هائی است که یک از یک خوشکل ترند و خیلیا شون هم مریضند...حاجی می ترسم سوزاک بگیرد " با اینکه شنیدم بیماری که پدر ازش می ترسد " سوزاک " است>>>

Shatranj

First of all, it’s not chess it’s shatranj. And yes the rules are different. In chess, the queen is the terror of the board. In shatranj nothing is more powerful than the rook. The humble piece that sits next to the king is the farzin, a wretched civil servant that can move only one square diagonally. There are more differences, but this isn’t about modern chess versus authentic shatranj, it’s a confession. We Iranians cheated in the very first game of shatranj ever played. In our defense, we didn’t start the whole affair, the Indians did>>>

روزمرّگی

می ترسم که روزی
روزمرّگی
ِجرمی شود بر دندان سفیدِ لذّت
و نتوانم حتی لقمه ای عشق هضم کنم
واگرجرعه ای احساس بنوشم
سرفه ام بگیرد >>>

The best way

We would like to congratulate you on your becoming the 44th President of the United States of America as such historic event of unprecedented proportion has now transpired. In your inaugural address, you eluded to extending a dialogue with Iran. Most Americans including many in the Iranian-American Community of nearly a million strong keenly welcome this noble idea. It is, therefore, in the spirit of supporting your bold leadership to reinvigorate the American credibility worldwide, including the Near East, albeit Iran, that we the undersigned scholars would take the opportunity a few key suggestions that we believe when implemented in our rapprochement should mutually benefit both nations:>>>

If Picasso could cook

Taxi drivers seem reluctant to make the 15 minute journey from the Nanjing business district to the infamous French Concession area of Shanghai where our destination ‘El Willy’ is discreetly tucked away. On arrival, we walk towards the faint glare of candle lit lanterns which become brighter and more visible as we approach. And then, all of a sudden, a very different Shanghai exposes itself to us. One that immediately makes you forget which corner of the earth you are in… Goodbye Shanghai, hello Europe! We arrive at the restaurant owned by Chef Patron Guillermo Tullera Moreno (hailing from Barcelona, Spain), affectionately known as “Willy”, after which he named his first restaurant>>>