Nowruz Ghazal
By Sayed Hosseini Bamdad
Translated by Asadullah Jafari “Pezhman”
Nowruz has arrived wearing roses
Along with buttercup and rose lily
It has blossomed towards the foothills
Roses watered from the waterfall and river
Flowers smiling on its lips
When laughing, the roses bloom
Embroidery of petals on the plains
It is covered with the love of the rose
Shadian has given me happiness
It brought a skirt full of roses
Sadness came, and an anemone burnt in the wind
Flowers rose on the skirt of a woman
The music of “Molla Mohammad Jan” is forgotten
Among songs of the rose, there is a lamentation
There is barbed wire on all four sides of the garden
The rose fell in the devil’s claws.
Translator’s Note: Dasht-e Shadian (Shadian Plain) is a green area in Mazar-e-Sharif, located in northern Afghanistan. This plain is for people’s entertainment during Nowruz celebrations, and the Red Flower Picnic.
