Number 9

QitʿaIraqi style
English

Number 9

My friend has appointed me to raise up a word on which the good of a whole world depends. But diminishing myself has long been my habit, and if I strive at it, the loss only doubles.
Explanation: The poem plays on the tension between being asked to build something beneficial and the poet's ingrained tendency toward self-effacement, where effort backfires.

Original · Persian

شمارهٔ ۹

نصب کردست مرا دوست برفع سخنی که برو نفع جهانی متوقف باشد
کسر نفسست مرا عادت دیرینه وگر جر کنم در مدد کسر مضاعف باشد