O Little Silver Coin
Obeyd Zakaniعبید زاکانی
ای اقچه گرد روی کانی
O little coin, round of face, born in the mine,
ای بی تو حرام زندگانی
without you, life itself is forbidden.
ای راحت جان و قوت دل
O ease of the soul and strength of the heart,
ای مایه عیش و کامرانی
O source of pleasure and of getting one’s way,
تا کی باشد عبید بی تو
how long must Obeyd, without you,
تن داده به عجز و ناتوانی
give himself up to weakness and helplessness?
A note for readers
A mock love poem addressed to a coin. Obeyd praises the aqcha, a small silver coin, in the language a lover uses for the beloved, as the ease of the soul and the strength of the heart. Ganjoor’s heading calls it a lament for having no money.
More poemsشعرهای دیگر
مرغی دیدم نشسته بر باره طوس
در پیش نهاده کله کیکاووس
I saw a bird perched on the ramparts of Tus,
with the skull of Kay Kavus set down before it.
A Bird on the Walls of Tus
یکی قطره باران ز ابری چکید
خجل شد چو پهنای دریا بدید
A drop of rain fell from a cloud;
it was ashamed when it saw the breadth of the sea.
A Drop of Rain
ابتدای کار سیمرغ ای عجب
جلوه‌گر بگذشت بر چین نیم‌شب
The beginning of the Simorgh’s story, how wonderful:
in all his splendour he passed over China at midnight.