Art Arena's World Poems - Poet: Arash Daneshzadeh

Arash Daneshzadeh

As a refugee from the Iran/Iraq War at the age of five, Arash Daneshzadeh has been writing since he was in 5th grade.
He has been influenced by a wide spectrum of art. From the renowned Ahmad Shamlu and John Donne, to his own mother's works, Mina Abdollahian, who is a sculptor, painter, Sufi and his father, who was "always a lover of humanity in his own punctilious way," says Daneshzadeh.
He currently is a Sophomore at UC Davis and a member of the Iranian Student Association (ISCAO).

"Paternal Merit"

"Ay, age seven
          Ay, the magnanimous moment of departure
          Whatever happened after you,
          happened in a mesh of insanity and ignorance." - Forugh Farrokhzad

I remember when my father read to me

From the He-Man action-figure comic books

Father never bent over far enough

to read the English,

then I put 2 and 2 together:

Farsi was all that was framed for him

from childhood.

I enjoyed the story as it went along

(no matter what language it was in)

You never know what mood he'd bring home

And what the picture book

would say to me through him.

He translated in his own way

Not by the text but by the way the pictures looked

With each scene he went along

And me demanding:

"Daddy read to me, read to me"

Added pressure

but he always made up an exciting composition

Filled with sword fights and magic carpets

But in this US setting

the carpets were a dead give-away

But it was all out of love and nothing more.

I love my Father for the sacrifices he made

late night tired and reading

In his own way

It still was worthy because it stood for love.

Besides, who am I to be so picky?

Daddy is the careful-King.

Perhaps life is a boy returning home from school.

Arash Daneshzadeh
Copyright ©April 2001

The poets will appreciate your Feedback.

Please feel free to Add your comments.


Poets Index	Top of page	World Poems

Copyright shall at all times remain vested in the Author. No part of the work shall be used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the Author's express written consent.