[natandacat]

Poem by H.E. Sayeh (Houshang Ebtehaj)

Translation by Mojdeh Marashi and Chad Sweeney

Transcribed poem in English (image ID) and original poem in Farsi under the cut

And because persian poetry should be heard, not just read, you can listen to it as well:

Kayvaan was a star

Kayvaan, a beloved figure and friend of Sayeh, was killed by the Shah's government after the coup d'état of 1953. The name "Kayvaan" also means "Venus" the morning star.

Tehran, June 17, 1979

We were from the fire's race,

born the same hour as the copper sun

yet darkened in ash.

Injustice smoldered in its forge,

my friend vanished like a spark,

I stayed behind with the patience of coal.

Kayvaan became a star

so above the grave night

hope

would shine for us.

Kayvaan became a star

so the beaten-down

could trace the path to dawn.

Kayvaan became a sar

to teach us

about fire,

the moment it flares

inside the self

and illuminates the evening.

Shaabe yalda, the longest night,

my palms tired of hoping

placed in his bright hands.

Shaabe yalda, solstice night,

my faith in the sun stays lit

by the color of his star.

Kayvaan, the star of morning,

he lived the way of light

and died by light.

He sits in the pupil of our eyes,

an heirloom of fire

handed to the sun for holding.

کیوان ستاره بود - ه.ا. سایه (هوشنگ ابتهاج)

ما از نژاد آتش بویدم

همزاد آفتاب بلند اما

با سرنوشت تیره خاکستر

عمری میان کوره بیداد

سوختیم

او چون شراره رفت

من با شکیب خاکستر ماندم

کیوان ستاره شد

تا برفراز این شب غمناک

امید روشنی را

با ما نگاه دارد

کیوان ستاره شد

تا شب گرفتگان

راه سپید را بشناسند

کیوان ستاره شد

که بگوید

آتش

آنگاه آتش است

کز اندرون خویش بسوزد

وین شام تیره را بفروزد

من در تمام این شب یلدا

دست امید خسته خود را

دردستهای روشن او می گذاشتم

من در تمام این شب یلدا

ایمان آفتابی خود را

از پرتو ستاره او گرم داشتم

کیوان ستاره بود

با نور زندگانی می کرد

با نور درگذشت

او در میان مردمک چشم ما نشست

تا ایم ودیعه را

روزی به صبحدم بسپاریم

[gyrovagi]

1. a bluebeard's wife situation is one of the most interesting situations in the world

2. everything can be a bluebeard's wife situation if you think about it enough

[yaoifunkypawz]

[moongirlmata]

My mood at Persian new year 😐✌🏼

[personontheswing]

everyone put your favorite thing to eat off the haftseen table i’ll go first: the honey

[nazarjoon]

nowruz pirooz from amu nowruz & naneh sarma🪻

this drawing depicts amu nowruz (uncle new year) and naneh sarma (mother winter). naneh sarma can only see amu nowruz once a year on the first day of spring. she prepares the house for his arrival, but always falls asleep just before he arrives. when amu nowruz visits, he lets her sleep and eats the food she prepared for him. he places a flower on his clothes, and leaves. growing up, my parents would always read this story to me around nowruz, and I wanted to create an illustration inspired by it <3

[nazarjoon]

ای کاش آدمی وطن‌اش را هم‌چون بنفشه‌ها می‌شد با خود ببرد هر کجا که خواست

(ay kāsh ādami vatanash ra hamchon banafshehha mishod bā khod bebarad har kojā ke khāst)

if only a person could take their homeland, wherever they wanted, like violets

as winter winds down to an end i always find myself listening to “kooche banafsheha” by farhad. he sings about the last days of esfand, the final month in the iranian calendar, when violets, with their leaves and roots, are picked and placed into boxes. his song laments the people unable take their homeland with them wherever they’d like, like the violets. with nowruz, the new year that starts tomorrow, i think of these boxes, which are sold as decorations during this time, and of the palestinians.

listening to this song, i realized how similar the symbol of violets in this song are to palestinian keys. after the 1948 nakba, many palestinians kept the keys to their homes with the hope that they may one day return. similarly, the violets symbolize the pain of being separated from your homeland, while also serving as a reminder of where someone comes from. and despite the pain they may cause, these violets are a beautiful reminder of spring and the coming new year.

the woman in this illustration is wearing a thobe with gazan tatreez, one of the symbols of palestine. her pose, with her hands behind her back, mirrors handala’s, another symbol of palestinian identity. however, unlike handala, she faces the viewer, almost confronting them. in her hands she holds a violet and a key. surrounding her is an olive tree, a symbol of palestinian’s connection to their land.

it has now been 529 days since isr*el’s war on gaza and 77 years since the nakba first began. in 2024 alone, up to 1.9 million palestinians were displaced according to the unrwa. this nowruz i hope for a future where no one has to mourn the loss of their home. free palestine forever ✌️🗝

[natandacat]

sal e no mobarak im sending all my love and remaining strength to iranians worldwide

[8-bitbasil]

who remembers the time when they didnt 🙋🏻

[genderkoolaid]

if i never hear another person talk about the prefrontal cortex it will be too soon

[genderkoolaid]

its incredible how for centuries we have been able to talk about the follies of youth and how people may make decisions when they are young that are informed by inexperience (in the subject matter, in relationships, in communication, in navigating emotions, etc.) and that needs to be taken into account. without making it a whole thing about how if you are under 25 you are basically brain damaged.

and its crazy how many people will be like yeah the rise of fascism is so scary, so many people are at risk of losing their autonomy, the government really wants to expand its control over us and how we act and think, we're probably gonna see a rise in eugenics..... btw did you know that teens and young adults are basically biologically incapable of critical thinking. i love being immune to propaganda :)

[8-bitbasil]

"the first vampire capitalist the first vampire pilot" well yes armand!

[sadistas]

[sylestial]

*meows loud as fuck to no avail*

[catkindness]

A bunch of patho fan art I never posted here for some reason??

[philcollinsenjoyer]

when you have been trying to fuck someone but they grab you by the back of your jacket to stop you from crossing the street when a car comes revealing that they see you as a child figure or maybe a kitten

[willgrahamscock]

any ship can be problematic because I have the heart and soul of a depraved pervert

[localgoblinlad]

first bikini babe painted in my new home <3