An Elegy For My Motherland Iran

 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

***

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

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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’s plain

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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

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Cry out my motherland

For those unborn swallows

That will pay an eternal heavy price

For our historical neglect and failure

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Cry out my motherland

For your painful destiny

For your ominous future

For your cold-blooded history

M. Sirani       19.06.2015