The Common Pain

"I'm not a story
you would tell
I'm not a song
you would sing
I'm not a sound
you would listen to
nor am I the thing
you would see
nor the thing
you would know,
I am the common pain
Cry me!

The tree speaks to the forest
the grass to the prairie
the star to the galaxy
and I
speak to you.

Tell me your name
give me your hand
tell me your words
give me your heart
I've spoken to all lips
with your lips
and your hands are familiar
with my hands.

In the bright silence
I've wept with you
for all the living
and in the dark cemetery
I've sung with you
the most beautiful songs
since the dead of this year
were the most amorous of the living.

Give me your hands
your hands are familiar
with mine.

Hey! You whom I've discovered so late
I speak to you
just the way the grass speaks to the prairie
the cloud to the storm
the rain to the sea
the bird to spring
the tree to the forest
because I've found your roots
because your voice is familiar with mine!

Ahmad Shamloo