The Summer

Much quoted of late -- made more famous by being Twittered -- are Ahmed Shamlou's lines "To slaughter us/ why did you need to invite us / to such an elegant party?"

Reading more of his work, it's easy to find it very relevant.

The Summer (published 1973)

The trustees of the Garden

From the depths of the confine

send the tired passer of the route

a green tinted kiss.

***

On the wide shoulders of the breeze

slowly dance the seeds of a new fragrance.

And what would it be

The fruit of the grown tree

This year,

So that the birds are spared

from the defined lines of the cage?

By Ahmad Shamlou

Translation: Maryam Dilmaghani