Majid Naficy: Great Feast
Death, like a weary actress
Has gone behind the stage
To take off her black dress
And put on her lounging gown.
Majid Naficy: Mosaddegh at The Hague
If you go to the Netherlands
Visit The Hague Court of Justice
On a rainy night
Majid Naficy: Sweet Accent
I like the sweet accent
Heard on the stairs this morning:
Persian with a hint of American.
Majid Naficy: Muddy Boots
in memory of Hossein Okhovat-Moqaddam I wash my old hiking boots And with the tip of my finger Brush their muddy treads. Oh, Dried mud! From which land do you … Continue reading
Mohammad Omidvar: How did the Iranian Revolution go so far off the rails?
. Even though it has to wage much of its struggle underground, the Tudeh Party of Iran, 40 years after the overthrow of the autocratic U.S.-installed Shah, continues the fight … Continue reading
Majid Naficy: A Return to the Garden of Goethe
If your son asks you When was the best day of the Revolution What will you tell him? Will you say instantly: February 11, 1979? The day you opened the gate of Evin … Continue reading
Majid Naficy: Painters
They have erected scaffolds by the bay And are painting the high towers of power lines. The seagulls circle over their heads Sobbing for their lost lookouts. I count. There … Continue reading
Majid Naficy: Measuring Tree
Every morning they walk By the measuring tree On their way to school. Today the girl says: Daddy! Watch!” She stands on tiptoes And lifts her right arm To touch … Continue reading
Majid Naficy: Calabrian Fig
Every morning when I go stair climbing I see her with a rake in hand Standing by a fig tree In front of her Roman house With arches and domes. … Continue reading
Majid Naficy: Nightmare at Dawn
I just let go of a nightmare And jumped out of my coffin. The moon peeks out from behind my neighbor’s rooftop. At this moment one should pick a pen. … Continue reading
Majid Naficy: Azad in Dubai
My son Azad has gone to Dubai With Zhu, one of his artists. I tell him: “Go to Khalifa Tower And see if from its roof You can spot the … Continue reading
Majid Naficy: Bay to Breakers
Here is my hajj Here is my hajj From Bay to Breakers. Every year here I have a rendezvous with God, A God who talks In a hundred tongues, Runs, … Continue reading
Majid Naficy: The Signs of My Mother
Oh high moon! What are you waiting for? Follow your path quickly And carry my message to Isfahan From the window of my bedroom. My mother is still awake And … Continue reading
Majid Naficy: One night I will return to my birthplace
One night I will return to my birthplace to stand on my rooftop and pick stars. Father will say, ‘Look, There! Don’t you see the Seven Brothers?’ I will stretch … Continue reading
