Anthology of Protest Poetry (Summer 2009 Iran) will be available in Farsi soon, to be followed shortly with English/Italian/Spanish translations. This Project is a joint effort between Dr. Mahnaz Badihian (poet, educator and activist) and Azadeh Davachi (poet and tranlator). For any ideas, suggestions or questions please contact publisher@mahmag.org. Below is a poem from that Anthology titled ‘Tango in Evin’ by Azadeh Davachi, translated from Farsi by Mahnaz Badihian.
This music has a good beginning,
Bach’s symphony or Beethoven,
Tango or Salsa
It doesn’t matter
What matters are minutes without oscillation
Which pass through music
In voiceless cells, you must
Start with unpleasant moves
Even if you are unicellular, without a head
Who is weary of lengthy days
Or a brain with no warden
That smells like slogans
It is a good beginning
If your mouth didn’t have a roof
And your jaw
Doesn’t tire from movement with music
Guantanamo or Evin
They are only words
That pass through the
Incomplete understanding of geraniums
You must dance
Until the final act
When someone says ‘Cut’
But you will not finish
With the last symphony
With pale bricks
You will dance the tango
* Evin is a notorious political prison in Tehran.
