CALAMITY

Like burning firewood, I writhe in pain

At the tragic Fate of the pomegranate grain

Whoever attempts their release

From the grip of the shell, membrane and crease

First holds them in a vice-like squeeze

And then when the job is done

Eats them up with relish, one by one

Wasef Bakhtari
Kabul, 1972

Translated by Fawad Hassan and Supriya Krishnamurthy
Feb. 2002