An English Translation of a Poem by Mrs. Mahvash Sabet

No Boundaries[1][2]

No boundaries:

     face to face,

         knee to knee,

                eye to eye,

away from all that was and is.

We gaze at the water in dingy sinks,

     at water-smeared mirrors,

          looking for a reflection,

                looking for the Light of the world,

                     that eternal glimmer of Light,

                          the spot where there is sun -

                                   a jeweled crown at the Apex of the world –

                                        a bride on the Mountain of love

                                            enthralled by the Mountain of love,

                                                 transported by the scent of red geraniums and green meadows.

And those women:

just letters --

each separate from one another,

sitting around us all, their faces . . . ghastly . . .

no sign of connection,

merely letters,

not sentences,

not even

words.

And yet it is together

          that we achieve that two-letter meaningful word “BE”:

              and become transported by the scent of red geraniums and green meadows.

No boundaries,

     knee to knee,

         eye to eye.

We didn’t know it,

          yet we unleashed

                chaos into the clamor

                         through our silence.

We didn’t know it,

           and the reflection of

                  the Light of the world,

                      in the water-smeared mirrors and dingy water –

We disturbed the silence.

We didn’t know it,

          and yet we would smile

                in the interstices of pain.

We would smile at those women –

           their feet swollen,

          mad ones with cold eyes,

          sick ones with yellow faces.

          no longer women, not even  men,

          old ones in death’s grasp, no matter the age

          and icy hungry ones

          hair shaved and faces razed

          and the ones with missing teeth

          and the young ones with yellow, swollen wounds

          and rotten thoughts

          with the paralyzing tang of decay,

          rusty voices

          and innocent women with entreating glances

          with hands like ivy 

                   seeking love,

and there we were, shedding love

         in that limbo of tribulation

              speaking of sacredness

                     of Humanity,

and those isolated letters glorified us

for some time in secret

and then openly.

When that one dear woman

         flipped through the pages of a book

                for the first time

                     and saw the letters of text

                           in the simple association of meaning

                                her eyes began to glitter

                                    her smile radiated with connection

                                        and her words radiated herself.

We didn’t know it

     and those lost delusory souls --

         unaware of love --

         unaware of us --

         unaware of Plus – addition and connection

         tending toward Minus -- subtraction and division--

         tried to remove us from the glossary of words.

And so,

       everyone saw the connectedness of letters

            in the simple association of meaning

                 flipping through pages

                     no boundaries

                          between one another

                              knee to knee

                                   eye to eye.

___________________________

[1] This is an English translation of a poem by Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, one of the seven members of the Baha’i leadership group in Iran, now serving their 20 year prison sentences. The poem is the story of why Mrs Sabet and Mrs Kamalabadi were transferred within the notorious Gohardasht prison. The original Farsi poem can be found here.

With special thanks to dear Ms Roxana Saberi and a beloved Baha’i friend for their comments on the translation draft.
[2] Also posted here.