An Elegy For My Motherland Iran Poem by Mehran Sirani

Cry out my motherland
That instead of high-flying eagles
The ugly vultures have built the nest
On the top of your centuries old wisdom tree
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Cry out my motherland
That instead of savior lions
The disgusting roar of dirty hyenas has resonated
Deep inside your centuries old glorious mountain
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Cry out my motherland
That instead of mighty thunderbolt
The honest fireflies have desperately tried to illuminate
Your centuries old eclipse with their poor flashlights

***
Cry out my motherland
That instead of the unique sun
The mass sunflowers have naively turned their faces to every spark
In the middle of your centuries old total darkness

***
Cry out my motherland
That instead of wise harvest
The endless intellectual famine has dried the roots of every plant
Deep inside your centuries old enlightenment plain

***
Cry out my motherland
For those barren swallows
That would mournfully leave your gloomy sky
Hoping in vain to taste the free flight in an earthly Aden

***
Cry out my motherland
For those unborn swallows
That will pay an eternal heavy price
For our historical neglect and failure

***
Cry out my motherland
For your painful destiny
For your ominous future
For your cold-blooded history


M. Sirani 19.06.2015