O life,  life!

O naught, O all, the intoxicating nil

I am filled with thy thrill still

I am not able to betray thee

If thou estrange me, I won’t estrange thee.

O life,  life!

I hunted thou in thee, in all, in thee

Ever looking to capture thee,O life, capture thee in me

running off my haunted tower of dream

my shimmery palace of fantasies

The journey’s harsh

The quest’s unsure

Nonetheless I went for thee

None could defeat me, defeat my will

O life! in my pursuit of thee, pursuit of beauty.

And I learned thee, life, I learned love!

In the nearness of Venus

I loved the morning star

In the abode of lights

I loved the mourning clouds

And in the land of moon

I loved the raining noon

O life, I learned thee

I learned love

I learned to love thee

The mother of beauty!

By: Forough Farrokhzad

Translation: Maryam Dilmaghani