Red earmuffs

For my son, Azad and in memory of my father, Abutorab Naficy (1914-2007)

Red earmuffs
by Majid Naficy
05-Dec-2007
 

I saw my red earmuffs again.
We were sitting on the bus
Going home from school.
It was windy outside
And the palm trees trembled.
He opened his folder
And showed his homework:
"Three scarfs
Two hats
Four gloves
And one ear...whatever it is."
An old man turned his head
And said: "earmuffs"
He had to color them
And count each group.
The bus was filled with words
And the windows grew frosty.

My father brought them from America
They were soft and cozy
Red on the outside and white inside
With a green headpiece in between.
We were sitting in the "turret room".
Father wore a sheepskin Caucasian cap.
His eyes were opened wide
And his hands covered his ears
Looking like a wolf in the snow.
Friday mornings, we went to Mt. Sofa.
The snow was everywhere
And I wore my red earmuffs.
We passed big bolders
And sat by the Khajik Fountain
To have our breakfast.
Father had Istanbul potatoes
And Dr. Khalili, offered sour cherry jam.
Then, we leaned back toward the bolder
Watching the city's skyline.
Father smoked his once-a-week cigarette
And Mr. Varzandeh wiped his mouth
With his wide, worn-out tie.

That night, as he slept,
I opened his folder.
He had colored the earmuffs red,
All red.

-- January 6, 1994
>>> PERSIAN poem by my son Azad Naficy
>>> Azad's song for his grandfather (MP3)


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Very moving. Concise and

by Shayan (not verified) on

Very moving. Concise and well-structured, elegant but not embellished. Thank you for sharing this.


Nazy Kaviani

The Man On Sofa Mountain

by Nazy Kaviani on

Thank you and Azad for sharing your poetry, your music, and your grief with us. Your feelings are familiar to most of us who have had to deal with the passing of loved ones so far away from us. Your memories of your father on Sofa felt so real and so close to my heart. When our loved ones cease to live in the way we know about, their existence continues through our memories. Your father must have been a special man; a man who now forever lives in your memory on Sofa Mountain.


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Out of Orbit

by Anonymous54 (not verified) on

Irrational
.
He was an old man
Hardly breathing
While laying down
On an all wrinkled up death bed
I got close to him
And I asked him
Could you tell me in one word
What was the meaning of this world
That you experienced it up until now
While his eyes were closed
He barely opened his mouth and uttered:
Utterly Irrational...
And I replied to him and said
Don't worry...
I will hide your life long earned knowledge discovery
And will keep it secret for ever and away from people

December 5, 2007
:)


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