Poetry at Sangam

Poetry at Sangam showcases poetry in English and translations as well as essays on poetics and news of new releases.

Untitled by Peyman Vahabzadeh

Translated from Persian by Sholeh Wolpé
 
 
My father always said:
“Piss on all poetry;
                                          go after bread!”
 
I listened to the wisdom of that sage,
pissed on poetry
and went
                          after bread.
 
Now
for thirty-five years
I’ve been eating bread
                        that tastes like piss.
 
 
 
(From The Forbidden, Poems from Iran and Its Exiles, Edited by Sholeh Wolpé, Michigan State University Press, 2012)
 
 
 
←Peyman Vahabzadeh

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