April 25, 2023 - “In Farsi” by Rahil Najafabadi

IN FARSI

We say, Delam Baraye To Tang Shodeh
when we want to say we miss someone.
Meaning my heart has tightened for you.
But the word Del is a metaphor
For heart––it actually means stomach.
Maybe that is why my stomach aches,
even when I am parasite free.

I’ve been to the doctor many times
until he told me to see the therapist.
But neither of them told me to see you.

I just want a piece of this world,
to be mine, untraveled, untouched.  
So I can bring you here and keep you
close to my sick heart. I curl up
like a nervous fetus in the womb.  

In Farsi, I can threaten you with my blocked
arteries failing for you not being
Here with me.
In English, all I am is dramatic.
In Farsi, there is no word for dramatic.
We just say deramatic.