I realised

When my trust hung from the thin thread of justice
And the hearts of my lamps were smashed into tiny pieces all over town
And the childlike eyes of my love were blindfolded with the black kerchief of law
When blood was gushing forth from the anxious temples of my desire
When my life was nothing other than the ticking of the clock
I realised that I must love
That I must madly love.

This is an excerpt from the poem “Window” (1967) by Forough Farrokhzad, translated by Farzaneh Milani from the Persian.

The Underwater Adventures of Layli

Ancient Persian love story of Layli and Majnun

20 000 leagues under the sea I go,

To where I don’t know.

I soar in the sky, and,

Swim in the sea.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

You may not know me, 

but I am the one you seek.

There is no end to this story.

You have just met me.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

You ask, how I got to the sea?

I was always there,

You came to me.

You ask, where was I?

You could never see.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

You fly so high,

You think too deep,

I was always there, 

under the sea.

Waiting for you to meet me.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

Majnun,

lost you were,

flying so high,

You forget me,

and instead searched for thee.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

People say, to love, 

you must find your own self,

and then love.

I say to love,

is to loose your own self, 

and always love. 

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

Wendt a lover of mine once asked me,

“Why is it that on finding what we most love

we destroy it by trying to own it forever.”

I laughed, with no reply.

I gazed, and gazed, and gazed,

into the heart of my lover.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

They wanted me,

but could never touch me.

They wanted me,

but felt they needed to control me.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

I gazed, and gazed, and 

showed them, it was all with me.

That the power of control was,

in the hands of the one being loved.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

The first step towards the love reality,

Was not denial but acceptance.

Acceptance of your reality.

It is this love reality that Wendt said,

makes us “horrendously brave.”

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

Brave to see our own self,

to be who we are,

to know what we are,

and live how we are.

To be horrendously brave in love,

is the mark that love leaves.

When in love, you are in,

a state of intense 

passion, purpose and confusion.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

You think you know but you don’t know.

Not until you are freed from the claws of the eagle of love,

Do you fall into the sea of reunion with me.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

You see,

I have come to the sea,

for you to see.

I am here for thee,

to be in such a state of ecstasy.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

I am higher, than thee,

I am stronger, than thee,

I am the one and only Beloved.

I am Layli Goddess of the sea.

You have come to me.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

You have come to me,

thinking there is a start to this,

and an end to this.

This is love, my lover,

there is no beginning and no end.

You swim, I soar, rather,

I swim, you soar lost in the heaven.

I swim free in the sea of serenity.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

You come to me seeking this peace and eternity.

It doesn’t come easy, 

To be my lover, lost under the sea with me.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

The Va of Life and the Om of Death.

The space between you and me,

Is like life and death, 

between inhale and exhale.

We come and go,

For love is the space between, 

the lover and the beloved.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

Know that in this sea, your love

will forever be quenched with me. 

But also know that together,

in the depths of this sea,

there is no end to our fraternity.

You and me we will not change,

But we will grow together,

in Esgh,

that white love,

just like that white light,

which will reflect our whole being,

You and me, together forever we will be.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

A rainbow fish for everyone to see.

Love is the place to be, only available in this sea.

It is in this underwater adventure with me,

That you come to be free.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

Poems you entangle me,

Poems you set me free.

Poems the paradox of my eternity.

Oh Layli, set me free, you are my Beloved One.

There was no wall between sky and sea,

It was one reality, just different to every eye that would see.

A love affair with the sun, had to end.

A selfish way of life had to end.

I needed Layli, to see, where it is I should be.

To plummet deep into the sea, 

was the only way for such a reality to be. 

Esgh is all I need from thee.

Oh this loneliness is killing me.

I must plummet deep into the sea.

So that I may dwell forever with thee.

Layli, you are my Beloved One.

Majnun, do not be afraid,

to fall deep into me.

It is where you will find your own reality.

You will be shaped according to how you wish to be.

All that love does, is it brings clarity.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

Clarity by giving of yourself,

and not keeping it.

Clarity by persistence.

Clarity by effort.

You will find clarity in the mystery of loving me.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

The bird of your insistent self, must be destroyed,

if you are to transform into the fish of passionate loving.

You must, you must, dive into the sea.

and forget the super sky that sucked you dry.

Know that love cannot exist in air, but only fully in water.

Think of love as such. It is a depth of being, 

where one cannot breath, nor see.

but can relay only on the one being Loved, me.

If you give yourself to me,

I will let you see and breath in the sea of eternity.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

As one captain upon the sea of my reality,

stated to me, I was everything.

I was a desert where no one was ever alone, 

but felt the stirring of life on all sides.

He said to all his men, the surface of the sea,

was still apart of the sky.

But 20 000 leagues under it, was where,

reign of self would stop, and the submission of self began.

“Live in the bosom of the water!

There is only independence!

There I recognise no masters!

There I am free!”

This is what he said to me.

Come to me, and live in this reality.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

Oh come to me, Majnun of my reality.

I am Layli Goddess of the Sea.

I am the Beloved of all eternity.

Never forget there is no end, there is no beginning,

There is just being with me.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

For once, when you become a lover to me,

You will become dry in the sea,

able to live forever with me, in this immensity.

I am Layli, the Beloved One.

- Pharan Akhtarkhavari

I'm not sorry for the inconvenience.

I'm sorry if you find it inconvenient,
but without you we wouldn't be in it,
you ate too much, and cared too little,
you littered too much, and reused too little,
you trashed the world, and now your melt,

explain to me, how you thought it felt,
when the sun shone down, 
as you tried to tan,
but tan time is up,
you're sizzling now.
Heaped up hype, how high is the sky,
higher than humans can afford to buy,
now summer time, come out beach bum,
beach is gone? waters on the rise,
retreating sand dunes, 
once seriously smooth,
desertify your garden,
no more tomatos? i beg your pardon,
Harden up young soldier skin,
it's more than cancer you'll have to face,
it's food you'll fight for soon.
Sayonara Kiribati,
you'll be the new atlantis,
you didn't make enough fuss,
drowning now, howling aloud,
sincerely sorry, world's weeping now.
And what of us? Can you keep your cup?
Can you try resuse your chopsticks too?
There isn't space for infinite refills,
chuck cups, chuck us, land fill, ground us.
Beep beep, I'm coming through,
why would I walk when I can drive to you?
smell that oil? burn that fuel, 
be like Bush, I'll fool you too,
motor way, zoom and stray,
surely there's another way?
Fossil fuels, respon-see-bulls, 
Bulls-eye, no wings to fly,
Carbon tax? Leave no tracks,
change your ways?
Are you insane!
You're more than welcome to stay this way,
but tell me now if thats your plan,
for I refuse to introduce children,
to a world left in your hands.

Five minute mental vomit.

Not being too quick to judge, 

quick foot, quick run, 

stomp around, hold no grudge,

goosestep, ground swept,

leaves gathered, time well spent.

Suck it up, rough it out, 

scream it loud, now I'm fizzled out. 

feel the ground? It's beating now.

Mother nature, she's hurting now.

Hear your heart, it's beating proud.

Proud of what? Palpitating, wow.

Round the bend, speeding up,

wrong turn, double back,

racing space, boiling face,

double up, there's trouble now,

wobble some, joke around,

lighten up, lay back down,

there's more to this,

but it's not profound.

Beauty fades, it's the second round,

up in smoke, who's dancing now?

Killer beat, newly found,

who they be? Not world-renowned,

quietly achieving, stereo's out,

carbon be leaking, oil depleting,

cap and trade or taxing you slaves,

inaction till D-day, delays until we belay.

What is it that I'm trying to say?

I hold no pretence, to make any sense,

Poor reference, pour vanilla, essence

is lost.
Prolific is naught,

knotted in nine, it's time to thrive,

we're hard wired to survive.

The Plan is Divine.

How could we go wrong,

with You as our Guide?

It's time to realign, project our desires,

promote Your ideas, 

stand tall and admire.

Now lay down, mind at rest,

gather your strength,

don't try to protest,

gear up, head space,

the time has come,

for your greatest test.

Don't fret, don't cry, 

you'll make it through,

your strength wont subside,

Be at rest, no sign of distress, 

we're all under arrest, 

standing over the greatest abyss.

Lost in yOUR world

If I were the aviation authority I could ban your excess baggage, 

Make you suck it up and leave behind all that extra carnage.

Severe all remaining ties, forcing you to disconnect,

Recollect, re-compress, reload then reconnect,

Detach you from the past that left you all delusional,

Left you believing that love only be illusional.

Lost your self, your soul, your sanity,

Sold debt, soul wept, sole self, so inept,

"Excuse my anger, I'm not always like this", 

From outrage to nonchalance,

Turn my anger into apathy,

But wait, no, I can’t morph your identity,

Can’t make you leave behind your attaché, 

And now I see in front of me my whole future,

How to make each morn even more the richer,

Everyone’s a hero trying to save the old world,

But world unity starts with your own word,

Not saying you didn’t hurt me, you made me sick,

Flick of a stick and you were gone; crack and whip,

And I sink, and then think how much I hated this,

I reminisced, so please excuse this,

But life is rare and the world is beautiful,

No one said it was easy, we are all soul-full,

And we each have a body like Lewis told you,

We got one shot no chance to renew,

So I’ll forgive and forget what we did and said,

With love and kindness, I tread with my legs,

As I head on out, I hold you in respect.

N.Homsey & S.Rouhani

26/10/2011