Broken Flowerpot
In Memory of Richard Beban*
Once,
You rang my doorbell.
I came to the gate
To welcome you.
You said: “Look!
Your flowerpot is broken.”
The big terracotta pot
Was cracked in the middle
Showing the roots of a flower
Which had greeted neighbors
At my doorstep for years.
We picked it up together
And carried it to the recycle bin.
Did the water and the sun
Break the flowerpot
Or a playful dog
Or a vengeful neighbor?
I did not put out another flower
And you did not ring my doorbell again.
Alas, I heard yesterday
You were gone from among us
In search of an eternal flower.
Majid Naficy
May 2, 2019
* Richard Beban was a cousin of my girlfriend, Wendy Pippin. He and I were among the winners of the contest “Poetry in the Windows” in Los Angeles, 2001. Our poems were published in an anthology by the same name edited by Suzanne Lummis.
گلدان شکسته
به یاد ریچارد بیبن*
یکبار
زنگ در را زدی
به پیشوازت آمدم
تا دمِ دروازه.
گفتی: "نگاه کن!
گلدانت شکسته."
گلدانِ بزرگِسفالی
از میان ترک خورده بود
و ریشههای گلی را نشان میداد
که سالها در آستانهی خانهام
به همسایگان خوشامد گفته بود.
با هم بلندش کردیم
و به بازیافتدان بردیم.
آیا آب و آفتاب
گلدان را شکسته بود
یا سگی بازیگوش
یا همسایهای کینهتوز؟
من دیگر گلی بیرون نگذاشتم
و تو دیگر زنگ در را نزدی.
افسوس، دیروز شنیدم
از میان ما رفتهای
در جستجوی گلی جاویدان.
مجید نفیسی
دوم مه دوهزارونوزده
* ریچارد بیبن پسرعمهی دوست دخترم وندی پپن بود. او و من هر دو از برندگان مسابقهی "شعر در پنجرهها" دوهزارویک در لسآنجلس بودیم و شعرهامان در گلچینی بهمین نام بهویرایش سوزان لامس درآمد.
from Hugh:
Very good.
from Snežana:
Nice flash of rememberance!
from Dan:
Very nice poem and a great picture of my cousin, Majid. I didn't know that your poetic connection with him went back that far.
from Joan:
Thank you so much, Majid! This is such a beautiful poem, and wouldn’t it be lovely if Richard were able to sense it somehow.
I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to meet him when I was in Paris a few years ago. Unfortunately, the logistics just didn’t work out.
Wendy must love and appreciate this touching poem.
from Naomi Shihab Nye:
I am so sorry to hear that Richard Beban has died. I too was a fan of his wonderful work.