Nowruz Mubarak – Happy Persian New Year! Quotations from Saadi, Barbara Sher, Ahmad Shamlu, and Article 1!

برآمد باد صبح و بوی نوروز-  به کام دوستان و بخت پیروز

مبارک بادت این سال و همه سال – همایون بادت این روز و همه روز

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“You can learn new things at any time in your life if you’re willing to be a beginner. If you actually learn to like being a beginner, then the whole world opens up to you.”
Barbara Sher

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Article 1, of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights – in the Kazakhstani language:
Барлық адамдар тумысынан азат және қадір-қасиеті мен кұқықтары тең болып дүниеге келеді. Адамдарға ақыл-парасат, ар-ождан берілген, сондықтан олар бір-бірімен туыстық, бауырмалдық қарым-қатынас жасаулары тиіс.
.
Translation:
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood [ and sisterhood ].”

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Ahmad Shamlu (1925-2000, Tehran, Iran)

“Bright Horizon”

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Bright horizon

Some day we will find our doves

Kindness will take Beauty by the hand

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That day – the least song will be a kiss

and every human being be brother to

every other human being

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That day – house doors will not be shut

Locks will be but legends

And the Heart be enough for Living

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The day – that the meaning of all speech is loving

so one won’t have to search for meaning down to the last word

The day – that the melody of every word be Life

and I won’t be suffering to find the right rhythm for every last poem

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That day – when every lip is a song

and the least song will be a kiss

That day – when you come – when you’ll come forever –

and Kindness be equal to Beauty

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The day – that we toss seeds to the doves…

and I await that day

even if upon that day I myself no longer be.

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We are grateful to Hassan H. Faramarz for the Persian-to-English translation of “Bright Horizon”.

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May your Nowruz be blessed with Hope – for resolutions, and moving on; for old patterns broken, and new directions sought; for common ground where there is strife; for being on the side of Life!

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Image using Arabic text from a Saadi poem:  graphic artist Reza Assar

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