Saturday 1 May 2010

Happy May Day to workers everywhere

I almost forgot, and I'm not sure I'm all that happy, but Happy May Day! It is by tradition a day that workers and trade unions celebrate around the globe.

I was going to Aylesbury to face down the EDL but the arrangements for that are a bit skewiff and I'm taking myself to Clerkenwell Green instead, for the demonstration organised by Greater London Association of TUCs. This occasion is always somewhat marred by the enormous Stalin posters carried by some of the communist organisations that pitch up. Really, where do you start with this?

Anyway, undaunted, I'm sharing a poem with you called "Workers' Anthem". The intro is written by my friend. I have only a vague idea of what the poem says (I do have "house Persian" - so long as people are asking what is for lunch or whether I've washed their blue towel yet, I'm fine). But I wanted to remember the trade unionists in Iran on this day, facing a very hard slog against their government and against their employers.

Posting a Persian script poem into a Blogger post is a challenge - the exclamation marks have ended up at the wrong ends of the line. Oh, where do you start with this?

Dedicated to workers on the occasion of "May Day"
The poet is not after supporting any particular political ideology or system. He has tried to portray a small part of the abilities, agonies, deprivations and creativity of workers worldwide. He has also made extensive and tangible use of industrial, technical and work related terms in its poetic images and concepts in a surprisingly poetic way. This has gone some way to demonstrate the high potential of Persian language in poetry. The poem was written around 1981.

The poet is Hadi Momeni, former Iranian chess champion and the coach of many of the junior chess champions from Iran (boys and, especially, girls).
 
"سرود همبستگي"
با چه توان كوه كند
ارتش جوشان كار
باچه توان پل كشيد
برقلل كوهسار؟
اتحاد ، اتحاد، كارگران اتحاد!

تيشهء دستان ما
بر لب شط سدكشيد
تيشهء دستان ما
در همه جا سد شكست
بهر چه برخاك ريخت
حلقهء زنجيرها
اتحاد، اتحاد، كارگران اتحاد!

 ازتپش صبح دم
تادل شب كار وكار
يك نفس وبي امان
پاي دَكَل هاي تار...
همدم ما دود وباد
همدم ما خشت وخاك
همدم ما زوزه ها....
اتحاد، اتحاد، كارگران اتحاد!

منگنهء چرخ ها
تيغهء دندانه ها
نيشتر شعله ها
تسمهء پروانه ها
ازتن ماساختند
اسكلتي سيم پيچ؛
بركف ما دوختند
اسلحه اي آتشين:
اتحاد، اتحاد، كارگران اتحاد!

پرشده در جام ها
شيروعسل، شهد وگل
خم شده بردوش ما
دودكش كوره ها....
قسمت ما بوي روي
قسمت ما زنگ مس
قسمت ما سرب داغ!
اتحاد، اتحاد، كارگران اتحاد!

يخ زده در قوس برق
گم شده در خاك پوك
دوخته بر مته ها
غلطك هرانقلاب!
ما همه يك پيكريم
قامت ما شير كوه
جوشش ما زنده رود
برلب ما يك سرود:
اتحاد،اتحاد، كارگران اتحاد!

خون رگِ سرخ ما
غنچهء قاليچه ها
جنگل فولاد ونور
گلشن بازوي ما؛
مرمر يك معدنيم
خالق گنجينه ها
شمش نَََوَرديده ايم
مالك زنجيرها
عزم خدا در زمين
باچَكُشي آهنين!
اتحاد، اتحاد، كارگران اتحاد!

همدل وهمسوشديم
ازشرر نقطه جوش
درگذراز بوته ها
جوشن رويينه پوش
مژده رسان آمديم
باگل ورنگين كمان
در كف ما پينه و
نيشكر وارغوان
زيرقدم هاي ما....
بيرق سوداگران!
اتحاد،اتحاد، كار گران اتحاد!

 با چه توان كوه كند
ارتش زحمتكشان
با چه توا ن ره كشيد
يكسره تا كهكشان؟
اتحاد، اتحاد، كارگران اتحاد!

 "هادي مومني" "1360"

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