Translated by Soheil Najm
Edited by Mark Pirie
Unsheathing his sword that is almost to his height,
he puts on his helmet
girded in steel.
He is in his full splendour.
He has the scent of history and the remains of its dust.
And because there was never enough warriors to fight
he was placed in a corner of a museum.
At festivals
you can see him sitting on a rock near his palace
or standing on a corner
taking photographs with children,
and in the best instances
he parades in front of the visitors.
At night,
when all the families return to their houses,
he is stripped of his splendour
and returned to a dark corner
of a museum
awaiting a new festival.
Edited by Mark Pirie
Unsheathing his sword that is almost to his height,
he puts on his helmet
girded in steel.
He is in his full splendour.
He has the scent of history and the remains of its dust.
And because there was never enough warriors to fight
he was placed in a corner of a museum.
At festivals
you can see him sitting on a rock near his palace
or standing on a corner
taking photographs with children,
and in the best instances
he parades in front of the visitors.
At night,
when all the families return to their houses,
he is stripped of his splendour
and returned to a dark corner
of a museum
awaiting a new festival.
