POETRY

A twelve-year-old radiating heaven

I’m sitting high up in a huge walnut tree

standing in its glory in the midst of

Grandma’s orange orchard under

a roasting summer sun

on the shore of the

Caspian Sea.

Easing off on play and breezy plots,

I repose in the shaded bosom of this

Persicon [1], on the centre padding whence

the smooth satin branches, firm, flexible,

without a thorn or a spike, spread out

and up in all directions.

Above me, towering roof of velvety leaves,

long, fern-like, fragrant when bruised,

light green nuts from the female flowers

beside the male ones of spring

royal nuts fit for the king of the gods,

Jupiter [2].

Within me, a black panther with green

copper eyes crouches in crescent

pose under my solar

plexus.

Before me, golden blades of tall

grass, random yellow wildflowers,

dense rows of orange trees bearing

hundreds of little green orbs,

unready, unripe.

Then suddenly a distant blue patch

of the Caspian Sea jumps to the eyes

between the tips of two cypress trees

on the sides of the far-away

front gate.

I linger in the cool shade, absorbing

the sun-drenched vista, listening

for the sounds of crickets, birds,

breathe in the bare essence

of the world.

And when a tingle of the breeze strokes

my face, all terrestrial thoughts exit

my mind, and a white lotus

blossoms within my pregnant

heart.

©2009, Azadeh Azad

Notes

[1] Persicon: Greek word for Walnut Tree, which is originally native to Northern Iran.

[2] The Latin name for Persian Walnut Tree is JuGlans Regia. Regia means Royal, and JuGlans means "Jupitor’s acorn" or "nut fit for the God Jupiter."