Tea in the desert

Afsanneh, Maimouneh, Parvaneh, Nargis and Nasim/ Packed a picnic basket/ Tea things, date cakes, sandwiches/ They wore scarves, veils, chador/ And went for tea in the desert.

They walked out before sun-up/ And walked and walked to the desert’s edge/ Then they saw a sand dune/ So they climbed it/ The air nimble, the sun low/ They saw another and another/ So they climbed all the dunes/ One after another/ Behind them they left father, priest and brother/ But still there was another/ The highest dune to climb/ From where they could see to Yazd, Kerman, Bam.

They took off their veils/ And let loose their hair/ For they were flushed hot/ Nasim’s hair was best/ In red fiery points, a halo/ And when they sat down to tea/ The sun was at its highest/ They sweated blood/ Felt faint/ Curled up in each other’s arms/ Kissed/ And slept and slept...

The wind whistled around them.

And this is how they had their tea in the desert/ Afsanneh, Maimouneh, Parvaneh, Nargis and Nasim...
(A poem for Iran by India’s first openly gay poet who lived in Iran from 1976 to 1979.) HOSHANG MERCHANT
hoshangmerchant@gmail.com