5 Poems by Mahnaz Badihian

Everything disappears

All the kisses we exchange
Every day with ones we love
The hates and pains
All the sickness and disease
Disappears  after a while
Because humans vanish every day
Then we recycle again and again
Kisses and hates will continue

The lands, the moon and the Sun
Are here to stay
The earth? our eternal mother
Will hold us
Will treat us all the same
Solid, quiet,
In process of recycling


Musk Deer
In memory of my brother Fardin

We ran in search of you
On  the soil you lost your life
We never found an inch of your body!
The soil smelled of evergreen
And daffodils from your youth

We filled our fists from
That aromatic soil, mixed it
with Zayandeh Ruod water
And  created piece of art
As memorable as Persepolis

you became the river running
Through our house
filled by tears

You became a young Musk Deer
From Isfahan
The perfume of your skin
never left us


Missing piece

I wake up anxiously
 Not knowing what is rushing me
Through similar moments
pouring on me every day.

Love in the form that exists,
Never satisfies
A love so limited, so incomplete,
That we easily lie, easily kill .
Watch half the world
Suffering

We keep searching for
 Lost piece in our life.
But at the end will give up
And settle with absence
Many more pieces,

This is life ,a precious whole
With lots of missing piece!


Silence

The colorful silence
knows me, and always
Waits for my arrival  .
The land of silence, colorful,
 Gravitating to forgotten memories


My Father goes  to baker

Through windows of my bedroom
I heard your voice
From garden with a big bowl of                                    
Cold figs in your hand
Your voice was crispy when you said
�Boy, it was chilly down there in the garden�
Then you added
�But my lungs need this   �

I asked you, can we have breakfast?
With your beautiful eyes
You said:
�Why don�t I go out and buy bread
From the baker while you are
 Making the omelet�

The day was short and I enjoyed going to
My aunt�s house with you to
Deliver small gifts  
I was happy because I only visited
Them a few times in my life
I saw your face thankful
That I think about my aunts sometimes
We were still talking ,but minutes later I
Found myself next to your grave
On the outskirts of Isfahan
Have I missed something in between
From our breakfast that day
To your move into the earth?


Bionote

Mahnaz Badihian is an Iranian/ American poet, Painter, Translator and educator. She is most noted for her use of poetry to bridge the gap between western and eastern cultures. She has published more than 10 books of Poetry and translation in Farsi and English. Mahnaz Has MA in Sociology and MFA in poetry.  She is Editor-in-Chief of MahMag.org, The first online Persian literary magazine. Mahnaz is an active member of literary scene in San Francisco.
Mahmag.org
Badihian.org
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahnaz_Badihian