“Where
is the friend’s house?”
asked the knight at dawn –
the sky was hesitant…
The traveller’s mouth extended
the branch of light to the shadows
of the sand and spoke aligning a poplar
to his pointing hand:
“Before one gets to the tree
there is the alley
leading to a greener garden
than God’s own vision…
“There
you will turn
towards the flower of solitude
a mere two steps before you reach it
stop and rest at the foot
of the unquenchable
fountain of earthly fables
as a translucent fear overtakes you
and you hear a stroking swish
in the fluid loneliness
of space…
“You will see a small child
climbing a tall fir tree to take a chick
from the nest of light –
then you will speak
and ask him:
“Where
is the friend’s house?”
————Sohrab Sepehri
Translated by Tatul Sonentz
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