The Bird Was Just A Bird Poem by Forough Farrokhzad

The birds said:
“What a bright day, what a fresh air!
Spring has arrived.
I must look for my mate.”

The bird fled from the edge of wire.
The bird soared away towards the clouds-
and disappeared fast.
Just like a wish,
Just like a prayer,
Just like a whisper,
The bird spread far and wide-
in the air.

The bird was tiny.
The bird was light.
The bird was not bright,
The bird was lonely,
But the bird, well,
was truly free.

In the sky,
Over the ups and downs of the hills and the lanes,
Over the traffic lights and over the stop signs,
The bird constantly flew.

And,
in the heights of the peace of her dreams,
She finally felt the blue sense of time and space.

The bird, well, was just a bird.
The bird, well, was truly free.


Translation: Maryam Dilmaghani, February 2007, Santa Barbara