Cover story
Poem from "A
World Between: Poems Stories and Essays by Iranian-Americans"
- a collection of writings by 30 authors and poets edited by Persis M.
Karim and Mohammad Mehdi Khorrami (1999, George Braziller Inc., New York;
352 pages).
Cheshmetun rowshan*
By Arash Saedinia
his kisses have grown weaker
through no less honest.
I bend my head that he might
hold my chin and
purse his wizened lips
against both cheeks.
each time I
draw myself away
his hand lingers
in the space between us
as though cast
in a lost song of praise.
there's still strength
in his gaze
though cataracts have patched
a pall over the amber of his eyes.
muggish and musty
his irises gloss like dust ridden gilt
in the window of a storefront
shrouded by sunset.
beneath the ether of age
and a haze of senescence
lie embers of amber.
grandma tries his flitting mind
grips my wrist and murmurs,
"Kiyeh?"
"Who is he?"
grandpa rustles, mouths my name.
"Arasheh."
grandma beams, leans toward him,
asks, "Khoshetun miyad?"
"Does he please you?
grandpa pauses, turns and replies,
"Nureh-cheshmeh."
"He's the light of my eyes."
* A congratulatory phrase that translates, "May your eyes be bright."
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