Edited and translated by Amin Banani with Jascha Kessler
Point by Point
If I met you face to face, I
would retrace—erase!—my heartbreak, pain by pain, ache by ache, word by word, point by point.
In search of you—just your face!—I
roam through the streets lost in disgrace, house to house, lane to lane, place to place, door to door.
My heart hopeless—broken,crushed!—I
heard it pound, till blood gushed from me, fountain by fountain, stream by stream, river by river, sea by sea.
The garden of your lips—your cheeks!—
your perfumed hair, I wonder there, bloom to bloom, rose to rose, petal to petal, scent to scent.
Your eyebrow—your eye!—and the mole
on your face, somehow they tie me, trait to trait, kindness to kindness, passion to passion, love to love.
While I grieve, with love—your love!—I
will reweave the fabric of my soul, stitch by stitch, thread by thread, warp by warp, woof by woof.
Last, I—Tahirih—searched my heart, I
looked line by line. What did I find? You and you, you and you, you and you.
