top of page

The Broken-Winged Bird

Who am I?

          A forgotten fable,

a speck of dust left behind by the wind

          in the district of love,


a drunkard who has fallen

          unconscious,

rejected by the master,

          with no guidance,


an exhausted traveler who has lost

          his way,

a refugee worn out

          from suffering and injustice,


a broken-winged bird left behind

          in the cage,

already driven out of the garden and

          ignored by the hunter,


a pale blush on the lips

          of the beloved Shirin,

a smoldering spark left behind

          from the stonecutter Farhad.


Having traded my prayer rug and cloak

          for wine,

I am a hung-over drunk who has forgotten

          all litanies.


Nurbakhsh was drowned

          in the ocean of fana,

for he was a muffled sigh in the chest,

          a suppressed cry in the heart.

bottom of page