(1921-2007)
Zhaleh Esfahani, also known as "Zhaleh Soltani" and "Zhaleh;" was born in 1921, in Esfahan, Iran. She left Iran in 1947 and lived in the former Soviet Union until her return to Iran in 1979, after the Revolution. She lived in London until her death on 29th November 2007.
Can't Keep Quiet
"But what am I?
Only a captive,
chained to the earth.
In silence I grow old,
In silence I wither and die,
And before long
nothing will remain of me
But a handful of ashes."
Forest and River
"I wish I were like you,"
Said the forest
to the roaring river,
"Always travelling,
always sightseeing;
Rushing towards the pure domain
of the sea,
The kingdom of water;
Water,
The passionate, vigorous spirit
of life,
The liquid turquoise of light
With eternal flow ..."
"But what am I?
Only a captive,
chained to the earth.
In silence I grow old,
In silence I wither and die,
And before long
nothing will remain of me
But a handful of ashes."
"O forest, half-asleep, half-awake",
Cried the river,
"I wish I were you,
Enjoying a seclusion
of living emerald,
And illuminated by moonlit nights;
Being a mirror
reflecting the beauties
of Spring;
A shaded rendezvous for lovers."
"Your destiny, a new life
every year;
My life, running away from myself
all the time;
Running. running, running
in bewilderment;
And what is my gain
Of all this meaningless journey?
Ah ... never having a moment of calm
and rest!"
"No one can ever know
what the other feels;
Who does care to ask
about a passer-by
If he really existed
or was only a shadow?"
Now a passer-by
Aimlessly walking in the shade
Comes to ask himself,
"Who am I? a river? a forest?
Or both?
River and forest?
River and forest!"
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