To an Embryo

Suddenly
You became free,
Shaking your tail
Moving your lips:
“Water! Water!”

Miscounting her days
She heard your voice:
“Here I am!
Here I am!”

I became father
She became mother
And we both said:
“Ah, Azzad fish!*
Give us more time.
Life is hard in exile.
Come back in a happy season.”

On our way to a surgeon
A fire flamed in her body
And spread into my soul
Like that self-moving life cell
From which life began on the earth.
She said:
“Was there a design for it?”
And I said:
“Or any designer?”

We return home.
Then comes fishing:
Choosing a name.
She says: “Azadeh”
And I say: “Or Azad.”
We both laugh.

Majid Naficy
October 17, 1987

* Salmon. “Azad” in Persian means “free” and is used as a name for boys.  The female version of this name is “Azadeh”.