Esther's blog

Natarsid

Esther — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:25:14 +0000

In the night, a candle's gleam, natarsid,
In the morning, a sunbeam, natarsid.

A million raindrops and a million tears,
United, form an unstoppable stream, natarsid.

Time, tide, or flood destroys the sand castle,
An inherently unstable regime, natarsid.

A mute or flute-playing mermaid, a song, a kiss,
Some things are other than they seem, natarsid.

Cold bodies, silenced voices leave behind
An irrepressible spirit, an undying scream, "Natarsid!"

Iran, Freedom of Expression: Freedom to Read

Esther — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:56:54 +0000

For the Iran, Freedom of Expression series

Two of the first Iran-related books I read were Shirin Ebadi's memoir, Iran Awakening, and the PEN anthology of contemporary Iranian fiction and poetry, Strange Times, My Dear. I was struck not only by the vision, sacrifice, and accomplishment of the authors, but also by the long and tortuous journey their works had taken to reach me.

Misogynist and Orientalist on a date

Esther — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:35:58 +0000

The following is an e-mail sent to Setareh (QoDs), which she would like to share for the benefit of anyone overly fond of former i.com contributor Hajiagha, Canada, battles of the sexes and cultures, and/or wars of the words and videos. Any additional Hajiagha "translations" may be found in Hajiagha's Dictionary.

Hajiagha finds a new place to suck to

Esther — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:54:35 +0000

by Setareh (QoDs)

This thesis ("I am sorry is sucks" [HD]) is submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of "great 12" [HD] in roshan-fekree [HK4]. Setareh (QoDs) would like to thank everyone on i.com who has supported her to this point, particularly her supervisor, Anonymouse. Setareh (QoDs)'s only sources are Anonymouse's extensive efforts to introduce Hajiagha to the English-speaking world, namely:

Writing Young Love: J'ai perdu mon coeur à iranian.com (I lost my heart on Iranian.com)

Esther — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:21:24 +0000

Je suis allée au site web
D'iranian.com
Et j'y ai gaspillé longtemps
En revenant au monde
Des non-iraniens – point
Hélas, mon coeur n'était plus là!
Je suis retournée au site web
D'iranian.com
Et j'y ai gaspillé longtemps
Mon coeur n'était parmi
Ni les blogs ni les commentaires
Peut-être qu'il ait été sauvegardé au serveur
Et là, catastrophe!
Où se trouve mon coeur
Personne ne peut dire jusqu'à maintenant
Faramarz a une théorie
Q en a plusieurs aussi
Et admin – lui a-t-il des yeux bruns?

* * *

Writing Young Love: J'ai perdu mon coeur à Chicoutimi (I lost my heart in Chicoutimi)

Esther — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:31:13 +0000

One summer, I went to study French in Chicoutimi, a small town on the Saguenay River in Quebec, Canada. Darius' contribution to the Writing Young Love series inspired me to submit mine (English translation follows).

Je suis allée au bord
De la rivière Saguenay
Et j'ai regardé longtemps là-dedans

En revenant en ville
Ma poitrine s'est mis
A me faire mal - mon coeur n'était plus là!

"What can we do for you?"

Esther — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:39:31 +0000

To Soar Like Icarus

Esther — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:57:02 +0000

Is anyone ever meant to rise, to soar like Icarus?
No matter, everyone still tries to soar like Icarus.

Parents, if you yearn to give your children wings, let them
Learn by chasing butterflies to soar like Icarus.

Rapunzel, Rudabeh, Batcheat – the princess in the tower
Looks out from her prison and sighs, “To soar like Icarus!”

Wax and feathers – a perilous proposition. But birds don’t need
To kiss the snake to win the prize, to soar like Icarus.

99 Green Balloons

Esther — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:25:11 +0000

You and I in a little toy shop
Where some mourn for the king of pop
While others take the money they’ve got
And set free the balloons they’ve bought
If you have time, I’ll sing a song
Of how it happens, what goes wrong
When, floating in the summer sky
99 green balloons go by.

99 green balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Some sort of gharbzadegi?
Alarmed, the theocracy
Sets forth to investigate
As the cries of “God is great”
Rise up in the summer sky

Neda's Echo

Esther — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:00:47 +0000

I wonder what you were thinking
As you woke up, ate breakfast
Brushed your teeth, combed your hair
And walked out into the streets

And I wonder what you were thinking
As you lay in those same streets
The end of the struggle for you
The first face of Iran’s struggle for the rest of the world

I wonder what your family and friends are thinking
As they mourn the Neda they knew
And the rest of the world projects
The voice we never heard till it fell silent

Reflections of a Non-Iranian Watching the 2009 Iranian Election Protests

Esther — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:52:35 +0000

It is not my country
It is not my struggle
It is not my destiny
To be a "voice" or a "message"

But I have eyes and ears
So let me watch, listen, and bear witness
And I must wear something
So today let it be green
The color of spring
The color of hope
The color of revolution