Weary Earth and Man ~ Ahmad Shamloo
It was then that the Earth
came to speech
And Man tired lonely
thinking sat on a rock
Regretting all he had done
And the Earth came to
speech and spoke to him thus:
I gave you bread
And fed grass to your sheep
and your cattle
And delicate leaves of herb
to mix in your bread
Man said: I know.
Then the Earth said:
In all manner of sounds I
have called unto you
With the breeze and the
wind
And the bubbling of springs
out of rock
And the downpour of waterfalls
And the rolling of avalanche from the mountaintop
And when I found you
heedless,
With the drum of thunder
And the flicker of
cloudburst
Man said: I know, I know.
But how could I decipher
the secret in your message?
Then the Earth said unto
him, Mankind thus:
It was not easy
But many were the
messengers
Yet you knew
That I adoringly love you
Yet not as a lover
fulfilled -
A willing concubine bought
with gold
And I loved you so much
That as you spread your
hand toward me
My body and being raised a
thousand sweet melodies in reply
As a new bride on her
conjugal bed
The cries rising from her
anguished body
Turning into discovery and
bliss…
And every clawing into a
wound deep and wide with pleasure
Oh such a bride
That every single time
She lay prostrated in
your bed
Thus spoke the Earth
And in what desert did you not dig a well
Where I failed to reward
you with thirst-quenching water?
And where did your terrible
hands
Not piercingly caress in return
for my abundant harvest
That you laid plowshare
into me and I did not manifold repay you?
Man again said: but how
could I decipher the secret in your message?
Did you know how adoringly
I love you?
Earth said unto him in
reply
Did you but know?
And unto you I sent message
One after another in myriad
voices:
Take your eyes off heaven
That revelation comes from
the earth
And unto you I sent message
again and again:
That your station is not in
servitude
That in this vast expanse
you are king!
And to take you as king
Is not a bestowal of heaven
But a gift of Earth…
Ah, that I in a ruinous
state of love-sickness
In a boundless universe did
enjoy a sweet reign
Thriving and ever green
with your magical powers
And even above that
You the master of my being
In your naive servitude to
heaven
Did put hand to breast
And prostrate forehead to
the dust
And make of me a worthless
thing!
Man vexed, weary and
ashamed
From the depths of pain
groaned
While the Earth spoke on:
I was completely yours
And submissive as the four
walls
Of a small house
And my love did give you
the strength
To rise above everyone
But alas!
Perhaps all along my error
was
That I laid beneath your
feet
That you drew strength from
my blood
And in pain I bit my lip
Like a mother who bears the
pangs of suckling
To nourish her newborn in
her bosom
With the sweet nectar of
her essence
And I taught you
To search for ores of iron
and zinc
To tear asunder my loving
breast
And all of this to give you
a plaything
For that uncaring touch
That I
had witnessed in your hands
Yet you turned from me,
And copper and iron you
made more fierce
Than the stone that washed Abel in blood
And made
the earth laden
With the victims
of your ill deeds
Ah, the Earth
has been left alone
The Earth
has been let loose in her solitude
“But Fate
willed it so; did not heaven demand a sacrifice?”
Man said muttering
under his breath
No! Not to
make of me a burial ground
-Replied the
Earth
And you
bereft of that deep sense of shame
How can you then
speak of Fate –
The excuse
of those who make no effort?
The trickster
has taught you
That justice
towers above Love
Alas if
there was but Love
No oppression would manifest
Such that a lame
justice need arise
With your
eyes shut it placed a sword in your hand
From the
very iron I gave to you to make plowshare from
And behold
the burial ground that heaven has made of justice
Alas the
ruin that it has made of me
…
The night
and the rain were in discourse
When the
wind arrived,
Stirring
mischief far and wide
[translation in progress]
