Among all past and modern poets some brilliant names forever shine not only to the Iranians but also to the world. One of these shinning names is Fereydoon Moshiri who has been greatly appreciated by the youth for years.
One of his poems which keeps lingering in the minds is entitled Koocheh (The Alley) which conjures up in my mind all my childhood memories.
The first part of the poem begins with an image which implicitly suggests the idea of darkness of the night and conjoins it with the darkness of missing the beloved while passing the alley alone calling the night a moonlit one. However, the burning desire to see the beloved puts the lover (the poet) on fire and drives him to the verge of enthusiastic madness for love.
The next picture comes also in the first stanza when it says ”my body a pair of eyes…..” and this unique experience happens only to poets. In the following lines another image comes to surface and that is when the poet’s whole body like a vase or a garden becomes the right place for the growth of roses but all these memories and joys which inspire the poet are caused by his beloved’s influence.
He remembers a night when once his beloved mentions TO (YOU), together they pass that alley and like birds they fly and spend a tender time in the solitude.
Sitting by the brook the lover and the beloved share the feeling of love, with each having a unique experience of it; the beloved shows all the world secrets in the eyes and the lover is enthralled by all the beauty in the beloved’s eyes.
Time and fortune seem to have been a matter of agitation for many poets. Here, the poet feels all right when experiencing tranquility toward time and sees the fortune smiling (maybe) at him and his beloved sitting behind him.
The last stanza marks the climatic point in the poem. He recalls something mentioned by the beloved to him; “AVOID LOVE!” It is a breaking phrase hurting the heart of the lover. How can he avoid the beloved who has such distinguished, brilliant characteristics?! But the justification comes; “water mirrors love!” Transient, passing and short. Exactly true with the love story; “your heart to others will bend.” This is not merely the case of lover and beloved but it is the real story of man.
Adam and Eve and their children descended on this earthly world. All of them said YES to Allah Almighty, but fell in love with other than Him. And this is the true reason for man’s paradise loss. Here you can view the old story of the Fall of Adam again in The Alley in which two lovers tell the truth but the reality unfortunately turns out to be false. Everyone feels like lovers but very few can abide by their oath.
(The English translations are taken from Moshiri’s selected poems “With All My Tears” translated by Iranian scholar Ismail Salami)
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