A Wish to Return

 

If I returned, back to the base of the much loved mountain of Alborz,

With a chocked cry I will tell of the heaviness in my heart.

 

If I return, I will lean my head against the door frame of any house.

I would call Hafez and Baba Koohee and repeat one thousand times

My grief over the lack of communication with another soul.

 

I will complain and cry to the Sarveh Naz in Shiraz

That I was among thousands of trees

Yet the freedom, mystery and mysticism you hold

I have never experienced, never seen.

 

If I return, I will roam hillsides overflowing with wild flowers.

Yet, in this borderless country

Where the hills and valleys are filled with flowers and greenery

My eyes can never see it, never see even one blossom.

 

If I return, I will slowly approach the roaring waters of the Caspian Sea,

I will shed my tears on the edge of the shore.

I will cry a tortured wail, I will murmur, I will grieve that

While I was by the calm and serene waters of the Pacific Ocean,

I was restless. Why?

 

With one thousand regrets, with one thousand regrets

The horizon of love and kindness once so close is now so far away.

 

If I return, I will touch every familiar face

With envious fingertips

Even though the faces may be stricken with pain and unhappiness.

 

If I return, God Knows

That the joyous celebration wailing up in my soul

Would rouse my cold and lifeless body

And wake up the entire world.

 

In The Back Alleys of Exile

Volume 1 Page 1