Esmail – by Mahnaz Badihian

Esmail…. 
For Esmail Khoi (Iranian poet in exile)

I am talking to you Esmail 
When was the last time you had a sip
From the Caspian Sea 
For dreams to come through 

I am talking to you, Esmail.
When was the last time you had a sip
From the Caspian Sea,
For dreams to come through?

When was the last time
Your heavy shoulders 
Warmed up with dreams 
While walking across Persepolis?

Tell me Esmail,
When was the last time 
Your laughter splashed on your poems,
On those cruel, lonely nights?

Did I see you crying, quietly?
Walking across King’s Cross 
Remembering your country
And the ones you left behind?

Tell me Esmail,
Your heart could not take
Loneliness, in search of a love
That fills your empty palms.

Tell me Esmail that your heart could not 
Tolerate life without
Glass to glass, cup to cup,
When you lost all the loves you had, 
Back to back.

Where is this road ending Esmail?
Read me your longest poem
In the short moments left for us…