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Simin Behbahani poems in English and Farsi
Who is Simin Behbahani?
Simin Behbahani, also known as Simin Khalili, was a prominent Iranian poet, lyricist, and activist. She was born on July 20, 1927, in Tehran, Iran, and passed away on August 19, 2014.
Behbahani’s poetry often dealt with themes of love, social justice, and the human condition. Her work was known for its eloquence, depth, and a unique blend of traditional and modern elements. She was considered one of the most influential and beloved contemporary poets in Iran.
Beyond her literary contributions, Behbahani was an advocate for women’s rights and social justice in Iran. She used her poetry and public appearances to express her concerns about political issues and social challenges in the country.
Throughout her lifetime, Simin Behbahani received numerous awards and honors for her literary achievements and social contributions. Her poetry continues to resonate with readers both in Iran and around the world, and she remains an enduring figure in Persian literature.
Simin Behbahani wrote numerous famous poems throughout her lifetime. Some of her most renowned and beloved poems include:
رفت آن سوار کولي با خود تو را نبرده
شب مانده است و با شب، تاريکي فشرده
کولي کنار آتش رقص شبانه‌ات کو؟
شادي چرا رميده؟ آتش چرا فسرده؟
خاموش مانده اينک، خاموش تا هميشه
چشم سياه چادر با اين چراغ مرده
رفت آنکه پيش پايش دريا ستاره کردی
چشمان مهربانش يک قطره ناسترده
در گيسوی تو نشکفت آن بوسه لحظه لحظه
اين شب نداشت ــ آری ــ الماس خرده خرده
بازی کنان زگويي خون می‌فشاند و می‌گفت
روزی سياه چشمی سرخي به ما سپرده
می‌رفت و گرد راهش از دود آه تيره
نيلوفرانه در باد پيچيده تاب خورده
سودای همرهی را گيسو به باد دادی
رفت آن سوار با خود، يک تار مو نبرده
“The Rider has Gone, Not Taking You”
The rider has gone, not taking you along,
The night remains, and with it, darkness has enveloped.
Where is the dancing shepherd by the fire at night?
Why has the joy diminished? Why has the fire cooled?
Silent now, forever silent,
The dark eyes under the veil have died with this lamp.
The one who had made the sea a constellation at his feet,
Not a single drop from his kind eyes remained.
In your tresses, that kiss did not blossom, moment by moment,
This night did not possess even the tiniest diamond.
Playing, you would bleed, and say,
“One day, a black-eyed sweetheart has entrusted his heart to us.”
He went, and around his path, smoke and dark sighs,
Like tangled water lilies in the wind, swirled and twirled.
You gave the longing for companionship to the wind,
The rider has gone, not taking even a strand of hair with him.
چرا رفتی، چرا من بی‌قرارم
به سر، سودای آغوش تو دارم
نگفتی ماهتاب امشب چه زیباست؟
ندیدی جانم از غم ناشکیباست؟
نه هنگام گل و فصل بهارست؟
نه عاشق در بهاران بی‌قرارست؟
نگفتم با لبان بسته خویش
به تو راز درون خسته خویش؟
خروش از چشم من نشنید گوش‌ت؟
نیاورد از خروشم در خروش‌ت؟
اگر جانت ز جانم آگهی داشت
چرا بی تابی‌ام را سهل انگاشت؟
کنار خانه ما کوهسارست
ز دیدار رقیبان برکنارست
چو شمع مهر خاموشی گزیند
شب اندر وی به آرامی نشیند
ز ماه و پرتو سیمینه او
حریری اوفتد بر سینه او
نسیمش مستی انگیزست و خوشبوست
پر از عطر شقایق‌های خودروست
بیا با هم شبی آنجا سرآریم
دمار از جان دوری‌ها برآریم
خیالت گرچه عمری یار من بود
امیدت گرچه در پندار من بود
بیا امشب شرابی دیگرم ده
ز مینای حقیقت ساغرم ده
دل دیوانه را دیوانه‌تر کن
مرا از هر دو عالم بی‌خبر کن
بیا! دنیا دو روزی بیشتر نیست
پی فرداش فردای دگر نیست
بیا… اما نه، خوبان خود پرستند
به بندِ مهر، کمتر پای بستند
اگر یک دم شرابی می‌چشانند
خمارآلوده عمری می‌نشانند
درین شهر آزمودم من بسی را
ندیدم باوفا ز آنان کسی را
تو هم هرچند مهر بی‌غروبی
به بی‌مهری گواهت اینکه خوبی
گذشتم من ز سودای وصالت
مرا تنها رها کن با خیالت
Why did you go? Why am I restless?
I have the yearning for your embrace in my heart.
Didn’t you say how beautiful the moonlight is tonight?
Didn’t you see the pain and restlessness in my soul?
Is it not the time of flowers and the spring season?
Is not the lover restless in the spring?
Didn’t I tell you my weary inner secrets with closed lips?
Didn’t you hear the outcry from my eyes? Didn’t you notice my anguish?
If your soul knew my soul so intimately,
Why did it make my unrest so easy?
Near our house, there’s a mountainous land,
Away from the rivals’ sight, secluded.
Like a candle, Love prefers silence,
It sits calmly in its light during the night.
From its moon and radiant light,
Silk falls upon its chest.
Its breeze is intoxicating and fragrant,
Filled with the scent of its own poppies.
Come, let’s rest our heads together there on a night,
Let’s remove the devastation of separations from our souls.
Though your thought was my companion for a lifetime,
Though your hope was my constant reflection,
Come tonight, pour me another cup of wine,
Give me the goblet filled with the essence of truth.
Make the mad heart even crazier,
Render me unaware of both worlds.
Come! The world has only two days,
There is no tomorrow after tomorrow.
Come… but no, the beautiful ones worship themselves,
They rarely tie themselves to the bond of love.
If they offer you a cup of wine for a moment,
They show a lifetime tainted with drunkenness.
In this city, I have tested many,
I haven’t seen faithfulness in any of them.
Even though you possess an endless love,
Your testimony is in your lack of kindness.
I have moved on from yearning for your union,
Leave me alone now, with your imagination!
ای آن که گاه گاه ز من یاد می‌کنی
پیوسته شادزی که دلی شاد می‌کنی
گفتی: «برو!» ولیک نگفتی کجا رود
این مرغ پر شکسته که آزاد می‌کنی
پنهان مساز راز غم خویش در سکوت
باری، در آن نگاه، چو فریاد می‌کنی
ای سیل اشک من! ز چه بنیاد می‌کنی؟
ای درد عشق او! ز چه بیداد می‌کنی؟
نازک‌تر از خیال منی، ای نگاه! لیک
با سینه کار دشنه پولاد می‌کنی
نقشت ز لوح خاطر سیمین نمی‌رود
ای آن که گاه گاه ز من یاد می‌کنی
Oh, you, who occasionally remembers me,
You continuously bring joy to a joyful heart.
You said, “Go!” but you didn’t say where to go,
You release this broken-winged bird as if it were free.
Do not conceal the secret of your grief in silence,
At least, in that gaze, cry out like a call for help.
Oh, the flood of my tears! Upon what foundation do you build?
Oh, the pain of your love! Why do you inflict such cruelty?
You are more delicate than my imagination, oh gaze!
Yet, with a firm chest, you wield a sword of steel.
Your image is not fading from the tablet of my heart,
Oh, you, who occasionally remembers me.
نه باهوشم
نه بیهوشم
نه گریانم نه خاموشم
همین دانم که می سوزم
همین دانم که می جوشم
پریشانم ، پریشانم
چه می گویم؟
نمی دانم
ز سودای تو حیرانم
چرا کردی فراموشم؟
I am neither intelligent,
Nor unconscious.
I am neither weeping nor silent,
I know I am burning, I know I am boiling.
I am restless, I am restless,
What am I saying?
I do not know.
I am bewildered by your longing,
Why did you make me forgetful?
ای زن ، چه دلفریب و چه زیبایی
گویی گل شکفته ی دنیایی
گل گفتمت، ز گفته خجل ماندم
گل را کجاست چون تو دلارایی؟
گل چون تو کی، به لطف، سخن گوید ؟
تنها تویی که نوگل گویایی
گر نوبهار، غنچه و گل زاید
ای زن، تو نوبهار همی زایی
چون روی نغز طفل تو، آیا کس
کی دیده نو بهار تماشایی؟
O woman, what a heart-stealer and how beautiful you are,
One might say, you are a blooming flower of a world.
I called you a flower, and I felt shy from speaking further,
Where is the flower compared to your radiance?
When will a flower speak with such grace?
Only you can be the eloquent bud.
If spring brings forth buds and flowers,
O woman, you are the very essence of spring.
When compared to your delicate infant’s face,
Who has seen a more enchanting springtime?
ستاره دیده فروبست و آرمید، بیا
شراب نور به رگ های شب دوید، بیا
ز بس به دامن شب اشک انتظارم ریخت
گل سپیده شگفت و سحر دمید، بیا
شهاب یاد تو در آسمان خاطر من
پیاپی از همه سو خطّ زر کشید، بیا
ز بس نشستم و با شب حدیث غم گفتم
ز غصّه رنگ من و رنگ شب پرید، بیا
به وقت « مرگم » اگر تازه می کنی دیدار
بهوش باش که هنگام آن رسید، بیا
به گام های کسان می برم گمان که تویی
دلم ز سینه برون شد ز بس تپید، بیا
نیامدی که فلک خوشه خوشه پروین داشت
کنون که دست سحر دانه دانه چید، بیا
امید خاطر « سیمین » دل شکسته تویی
مرا مخواه از این بیش ناامید، بیا
The star lowered its gaze and shrank, come to me,
The wine of light rushed through the veins of the night, come to me.
From waiting, tears poured into the lap of the night,
The white flower blossomed in wonder, and dawn approached, come to me.
The memory of you, like a shooting star in the sky of my thoughts,
Drew continuous golden lines from all directions, come to me.
I sat so long and shared my sorrows with the night,
The color of my grief and the color of the night mingled and flew away, come to me.
If you wish to see me fresh at the time of “my death,”
Be mindful, for the moment of arrival has approached, come to me.
I walk with the steps of others, thinking it’s you,
My heart jumped out of my chest from so much excitement, come to me.
The heavens were waiting for you like clusters of stars,
Now, the magic of dawn picks each seed one by one, come to me.
You are the hope of Simin’s heart, the heartbroken one is you,
Do not make me more hopeless, come to me.
دلم گرفته ، ای دوست! هوای گریه با من
گر از قفس گریزم کجا روم ، کجا من؟
کجا روم که راهی به گلشنی ندارم
که دیده بر گشودم به کنج تنگنا من
نه بسته ام به کس دل نه بسته کس به من دل
چو تخته پاره بر موج رها رها رها من
ز من هر آن که او دور چو دل به سینه نزدیک
به من هر ان که نزدیک از او جدا جدا من
نه چشم دل به سویی نه باده در سبویی
که تر کنم گلویی به یاد آشنا من
زبودنم چه افزود ؟ نبودنم چه کاهد؟
که گوید به پاسخ که زنده ام چرا من
ستاره ها نهفتم در آسمان ابری
دلم گرفته ، ای دوست هوای گریه با من
My heart is overwhelmed, O friend! The desire to weep is with me,
If I escape from the cage, where should I go, where can I be?
Where can I go when I have no path to a garden?
I opened my eyes in this narrow corner of confinement.
Neither am I attached to anyone, nor does anyone have attachment to me,
I am like a broken plank adrift on the waves.
To anyone who is distant like a heart, I am near,
To anyone who is near, I am distant, apart.
I have no eye for anything, nor any wine in a cup,
To quench my thirst, I remember only the familiar.
What is my increase in existence? What does my non-existence diminish?
So that one would ask, “Why am I alive?”
I have hidden like stars behind the cloudy sky,
My heart is overwhelmed, O friend! The desire to weep is with me.
خرمن زلف من کجا ؟ شاخه یاسمن کجا ؟
قهر ز من چه می کنی ٬ بهر تو همچو من کجا ؟
صحبت باغ را مکن پیش بهشت روی من
سبزه ی عارضم کجا ؟ خرّمی چمن کجا ؟
لاله و من چه نسبتی ؟ ساغر او ز می تهی
ساق فریب زن کجا ؟ ساقی سیمتن کجا ؟
غنچه دهان بسته یی ٬ پیش لب شکفته ام
گرمی بوسه ام کجا ؟ سردی آن دهن کجا ؟
نرگس و دیدگان من ؟ وای از این ستمگری
در نگهم ترانه ها ٬ در نگهش سخن کجا ؟
بر سر و سینه ام مکش دست که خسته می شود
نرمی پیکرم کجا ؟ خرمن نسترن کجا ؟
این همه هیچ ٬ بهر تو ٬ یار ز خود گذشته یی
دوستی ِ تو خواسته ٬ دشمن خویشتن کجا؟
می روی و خطاست این ٬ شیوه ی نابجاست این
قهر ز من چه می کنی ؟ بهر تو همچو من کجا ؟
Where is the sheaf of my beloved’s hair? Where is the jasmine branch?
Why do you treat me with anger? Where is someone like me for you?
Do not compare the conversation of the garden with the beauty of my face,
Where is the greenery of my cheek? Where is the charm of the meadow?
What connection do I have with tulips? Her wine cup is empty,
Where is the deceitful allure of her lips? Where is the wine bearer with silver hands?
You are like a bud with closed lips, while I am blooming by your lips,
Where is the warmth of my kiss? Where is the coldness of that mouth?
Where are the narcissus and my eyes? Woe to this oppressor,
In my gaze are melodies, in my gaze are words.
Do not put your hand on my head and chest, it becomes weary!
Where is the softness of my body? Where is the narcissus sheaf?
All this emptiness, for you, my love has gone beyond itself,
Your friendship is desired, where is your enmity to yourself?
You go away, and this is a mistake, this is an improper way,
Why do you treat me with anger? Where is someone like me for you?
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