Endowed in perpetuity by the Glenna Luschei Fund for Excellence

Common Love

Secrets

Common Love

Ahmad Shamloo

Tear is a secret
Laughter is a secret
Love is a secret
The tear of that night was laughter of my love
I am not a story you can tell
Not a melody you can sing
Not a voice you can hear
Or something you can see
Or you can know

I am a common pain, scream me!

Tree has a word with forest
Grass with a plain
And I with you

Tell me your name
Give your hands to me
Tell me your story
And give me your heart

I have understood your roots
With your lips I have spoken for all the lips
Your hands are familiar with my hands
For the sake of those who are alive
I wept with you in solitude
I have sung the most beautiful songs
In the darkness of cemeteries
Because this year’s dead
Were in love more than anyone alive

I am talking to you
Whom I found very late
Your hands are familiar with me
Like a cloud with fields
Like rain with oceans
Like a bird with spring
And like a tree that talks with the forest
Because I have understood your roots
Because my voice knows your voice

Mahnaz Badihian

Biography

Author Photo of Ahmad ShamlooAuthor Photo of Ahmad ShamlooAuthor Photo of Ahmad ShamlooAuthor Photo of Ahmad ShamlooAuthor Photo of Ahmad Shamloo

Ahmad Shamloo, also known by his pen name A. Bamdad (Persian: ا. بامداد), was a Persian poet, writer, and journalist. Shamloo is arguably the most influential poet of modern Iran. His initial poetry was influenced by and written in the tradition of Nima Youshij.