Forough Farrokhzad (1935-1967)
On December 2nd, 2013, the piece I have written for Goucher College’s chamber singers is going to be performed in Merrick Lecture Hall. The Poem for this piece is based on Forough Farrokhzad’s poem: “Another Birth“. The poem itself was very long, and I could not use all of it; therefore, I decided to arrange it in my own way. Below, you can read my translation and arrangement of this beautiful poetry. The last strophe is my addition to the piece, which is also my own interpretation and conclusion of Farrokhzad’s philosophy of life
Life is perhaps
a child returning from school back to home
Life is perhaps
a rope with which a man hangs himself
Life is perhaps
Lighting up a cigarette
in between the narcotic repose of two love makings
or the absent gaze of a passerby with a meaningless smile: “good morning”
Life
in a room as big as loneliness
my heart as big as love
looking at the simple pretexts of its happiness
looking at the beautiful decay of flowers in the vase
and the song of canaries, singing to the extent of a window
Life perhaps is
this very moment of you and I
stretching through the time
with this very simple smile
(refer to Forough Farrokhzad’s website for more info: http://www.forughfarrokhzad.org/)
Nilou Nour | Composer Pianist 