Hey People BY NIMA YOSHIJ

[Mehran]

Hey, People


Hey you over there
Who are sitting on the shore,happy and laughing,
Someone is dying in the water,
Someone is constantly struggling
On this angry,heavy,dark,familiar sea.
When you are drunk
With the thought of getting your hands on your enemy,
When you think in vain
That you have given a hand to a weak person,
To produce a better weak person,
When you tighten your belts,when,
When shall I tell you
That someone in the water
Is sacrificing in vain?




Hey,you over there
Who are sitting pleasently on the shore,
Bread on your tablecloths,clothes on your bodies
someone is calling you from the water.
He beats the heavy wave with his tired hand,
His mouth agape,eyes torn wide with terror,
He has been your shadows from afar,
Has swallowed water in the dark blue deep,
Each moment his impatience grows.
He raises from these waters
A foot,at times,
At times, his head...
Hey you over there,
He still has his eyes on this old world from afar,
He is shouting and hopes for help.
Hey you there
Who are calmly watching from the shore,
The wave beats on the silent shore,spreads
Like a drunk fallen on his bed unconscious,
Receds with a roar,and this call comes from afar again:
Hey,you over there...




And the sound of the wind
More heart_rending by the moment,
And his voice weaker in the sound of wind;
From waters near and far
Again this call is heard:
HEY,YOU OVER THERE...

Nima Yoshij
December17,1942


SOURCE:iranchambersociety.com