Persian Poetry for Readers: 5 Poems Line-by-Line

<![CDATA[Iranians quote poetry the way Americans quote movies. At the dinner table, in arguments, on Instagram captions, in taxi conversations with strangers. My uncle in Tehran can’t go thirty minutes without dropping a Hafez couplet, and he’s an accountant.

Poetry isn’t an academic exercise in Persian culture. it’s the operating system. And if you want to actually understand Iranians, at some point you have to engage with their poets.

The problem for learners: classical Persian poetry uses archaic vocabulary, inverted word order, and metaphors that need cultural footnotes. Even modern poetry can feel opaque without guidance.

So I picked five poems that work for Farsi learners. starting with modern poets whose language sits closer to spoken Persian, then moving to Hafez. For each poem, you get: the full Farsi text, a line-by-line transliteration and translation, a vocabulary list, and the cultural context you need to actually feel the poem instead of just decoding it.

This is part of the Persian reading practice series. If you’ve been working through prose texts and want something that hits differently, poetry is it.

Poem 1: Forough Farrokhzad. “Wind-Up Doll” (Excerpt)

Forough Farrokhzad (1934-1967) is probably Iran’s most important modern poet. She wrote about desire, loneliness, and the female experience in a society that didn’t want to hear about any of those things. Her language is direct, almost conversational. which makes her a perfect starting point for learners.

This excerpt is from عروسک کوکی (Arusak-e Kuki. "Wind-Up Doll"), published in 1963.

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Line-by-Line Breakdown

می‌شود یک عمر با صدایی فرق نداشت
mishavad yek omr bâ sedâyi fargh nadâsht
"One can spend a lifetime not differing from a voice"

می‌شود یک عمر چون نگاه موهوم عروسک‌های کوکی
mishavad yek omr chon negâh-e mawhum-e arusak-hâ-ye kuki
"One can spend a lifetime like the vague gaze of wind-up dolls"

به جهان با دو چشم شیشه‌ای نگریست
be jahân bâ do cheshm-e shishe-i negarist
"looking at the world with two glass eyes"

می‌شود در جعبه‌ای چینی
mishavad dar ja’be-i chini
"One can, in a porcelain box"

روی بستری از کاه
ruye bastar-i az kâh
"on a bed of straw"

تن بی‌روح فولادین را خواباند
tan-e bi-ruh-e fulâdin râ khâbânad
"lay down a soulless, steel body"

می‌شود با هر فشار دست بیگانه‌ای
mishavad bâ har feshâr-e dast-e bigâne-i
"One can, with every press of a stranger’s hand"

بی‌سبب فریاد زد: آه من خوشبختم
bi-sabab faryâd zad: âh man khoshbakhtam
"cry out without reason: ‘Ah, I am happy!’"

Vocabulary

• عمر. omr. lifetime
• نگاه موهوم. negâh-e mawhum. vague/illusory gaze
• عروسک کوکی. arusak-e kuki. wind-up doll
• شیشه‌ای. shishe-i. glass, made of glass
• نگریستن. negaristan. to gaze, to look (literary)
• بستر. bastar. bed, resting place
• کاه. kâh. straw
• بی‌روح. bi-ruh. soulless
• فولادین. fulâdin. made of steel
• فشار. feshâr. pressure, press
• بیگانه. bigâne. stranger, foreign
• بی‌سبب. bi-sabab. without reason
• فریاد زدن. faryâd zadan. to shout, to cry out

Cultural Context

Forough wrote this in her late twenties, as a divorced woman in 1960s Iran. The "wind-up doll" is a woman performing happiness on command. smiling when expected, saying the right things, while feeling nothing. The repeated می‌شود (mishavad. "one can" / "it’s possible") is devastating: she’s listing all the ways a person can sleepwalk through life. The poem was considered scandalous. Today it’s on every Iranian feminist’s bookshelf.

Poem 2: Sohrab Sepehri. From “The Water’s Footsteps”

Sohrab Sepehri (1928-1980) was a poet and painter. His language is simple on the surface. short words, concrete images. but the simplicity is deceptive. He writes about water, trees, light, and loneliness with a Zen-like clarity that’s unusual in Persian literature.

This excerpt is from صدای پای آب (Sedâ-ye Pâ-ye Âb. "The Water’s Footsteps"), his most famous long poem.

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Line-by-Line Breakdown

من اهل کاشانم
man ahl-e Kâshânam
"I am from Kashan"

روزگارم بد نیست
ruzegâram bad nist
"My life is not bad"

تکه نانی دارم، خرده هوشی، سر سوزن ذوقی
tekke nâni dâram, khorde hushi, sar-e suzan-e zowghi
"I have a piece of bread, a bit of intelligence, a pinpoint of taste"

مادری دارم، بهتر از برگ درخت
mâdari dâram, behtar az barg-e derakht
"I have a mother, better than a tree’s leaf"

دوستانی بهتر از آب روان
dustâni behtar az âb-e ravân
"friends better than flowing water"

و خدایی که در این نزدیکی‌ست
va khodâyi ke dar in nazdiki-st
"and a God who is right here nearby"

لای این شب‌بوها، پای آن کاج بلند
lâ-ye in shab-bu-hâ, pâ-ye ân kâj-e boland
"among these wallflowers, at the foot of that tall pine"

روی آگاهی آب، روی قانون گیاه
ru-ye âgâhi-ye âb, ru-ye ghânun-e giyâh
"on the awareness of water, on the law of plants"

Vocabulary

• اهل. ahl-e. from, belonging to (a place)
• روزگار. ruzegâr. life, times, era
• تکه نان. tekke nân. a piece of bread (implies modest livelihood)
• خرده. khorde. a bit, a small amount
• سر سوزن. sar-e suzan. the tip of a needle (pinpoint, the tiniest amount)
• ذوق. zowgh. taste, aesthetic sense, delight
• برگ. barg. leaf
• آب روان. âb-e ravân. flowing water
• شب‌بو. shab-bu. wallflower (night-scented stock)
• کاج. kâj. pine tree
• آگاهی. âgâhi. awareness, consciousness
• قانون. ghânun. law, rule
• گیاه. giyâh. plant

Cultural Context

Sohrab was from Kashan. a desert city famous for its rosewater and traditional architecture. This opening is one of the most quoted passages in modern Persian. The understatement is the point: "My life is not bad" is the most Sohrab thing ever written. He finds God not in a mosque but among flowers and at the base of a pine tree. For learners, Sohrab is gold. his vocabulary is mostly everyday words arranged in unexpected ways.

Poem 3: Forough Farrokhzad. “Another Birth” (Excerpt)

Back to Forough with her most celebrated poem: تولدی دیگر (Tavalodi Digar. "Another Birth"), from the 1964 collection of the same name. This is the poem that cemented her as Iran’s greatest modern poet.

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Line-by-Line Breakdown

همه می‌دانند / همه می‌دانند
hame midânand / hame midânand
"Everyone knows / everyone knows"

که من و تو از آن روزنه سرد عبوس
ke man o to az ân rowzane-ye sard-e abus
"that you and I, from that cold, sullen window"

باغ را دیدیم
bâgh râ didim
"saw the garden"

و از آن شاخه بازیگر دور دست
va az ân shâkhe-ye bâzigar-e dur-e dast
"and from that playful, distant branch"

سیب را چیدیم
sib râ chidim
"picked the apple"

همه می‌ترسند
hame mitarsand
"Everyone is afraid"

همه می‌ترسند اما من و تو
hame mitarsand ammâ man o to
"Everyone is afraid, but you and I"

به چراغ و آب و آینه پیوستیم
be cherâgh o âb o âyene peyvasstim
"joined with the lamp and water and mirror"

و نترسیدیم
va natarsidim
"and were not afraid"

Vocabulary

• روزنه. rowzane. small window, opening
• عبوس. abus. sullen, frowning
• باغ. bâgh. garden
• شاخه. shâkhe. branch
• بازیگر. bâzigar. playful, actor (here: swaying/playing)
• دور دست. dur-e dast. distant, far away
• سیب. sib. apple
• چیدن. chidan. to pick, to pluck
• چراغ. cherâgh. lamp, light
• آینه. âyene. mirror
• پیوستن. peyvastan. to join, to connect

Cultural Context

The apple, the garden, the fear. the biblical/Quranic echoes are intentional. Forough is reclaiming the story of the Fall: yes, we took the apple. And we’re not sorry. The "lamp, water, and mirror" are the three sacred elements of a Nowruz Haft-Sin table and also symbols in Zoroastrian tradition. She’s drawing on layers of Iranian identity. Islamic, pre-Islamic, and personal. all at once. The repetition of همه می‌دانند and همه می‌ترسند creates an incantatory rhythm that’s easy to read aloud even at B1 level.

Poem 4: Sohrab Sepehri. “Where Is the Friend’s House?”

This short poem became the title of Abbas Kiarostami’s 1987 film. It’s one of the most recognized pieces of modern Persian poetry.

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Line-by-Line Breakdown

خانه دوست کجاست؟ در فلق بود که پرسید سوار
khâne-ye dust kojâst? dar falagh bud ke porsid savâr
"Where is the friend’s house? It was at dawn that the rider asked"

آسمان مکثی کرد
âsemân maksi kard
"The sky paused"

رهگذر شاخه نوری که به لب داشت به تاریکی شن‌ها بخشید
rahgozar shâkhe-ye nuri ke be lab dâsht be târiki-ye shen-hâ bakhshid
"The passerby gave the branch of light he held at his lips to the darkness of the sands"

و اشاره به سپیداری کرد و گفت:
va eshâre be sepidâri kard va goft:
"and pointed to a poplar tree and said:"

نرسیده به درخت
naresideh be derakht
"Before you reach the tree"

کوچه باغی‌ست که از خواب خدا سبزتر است
kuche bâghi-st ke az khâb-e khodâ sabztar ast
"there is a garden alley that is greener than God’s dream"

و در آن عشق به اندازه پرهای صداقت آبی‌ست
va dar ân eshgh be andâze-ye par-hâ-ye sedâghat âbi-st
"and in it, love is as blue as the wings of sincerity"

می‌روی تا ته آن کوچه
miravi tâ tah-e ân kuche
"You go to the end of that alley"

پای فواره جاوید اساطیر زمین می‌مانی
pâ-ye favvâre-ye jâvid-e asâtir-e zamin mimâni
"You stop at the eternal fountain of earth’s myths"

و ترا ترسی شفاف فرا می‌گیرد
va torâ tarsi-ye shaffâf farâ migirad
"and a transparent fear envelops you"

کودکی می‌بینی
kudaki mibini
"You see a child"

رفته از کاج بلندی بالا، جوجه بردارد از لانه نور
rafte az kâj-e bolandi bâlâ, juje bardârad az lâne-ye nur
"who has climbed a tall pine to take a chick from the nest of light"

و از او می‌پرسی خانه دوست کجاست
va az u miporsee khâne-ye dust kojâst
"and you ask him: where is the friend’s house?"

Vocabulary

• فلق. falagh. dawn, daybreak
• سوار. savâr. rider, horseman
• مکث. maks. pause
• رهگذر. rahgozar. passerby
• سپیدار. sepidâr. poplar tree
• صداقت. sedâghat. sincerity, honesty
• فواره. favvâre. fountain
• جاوید. jâvid. eternal
• اساطیر. asâtir. myths
• شفاف. shaffâf. transparent
• لانه. lâne. nest
• نور. nur. light

Cultural Context

This poem is a set of directions. but to a place that might not exist, or exists only in the imagination. The "friend" in Sufi poetry is always God, or the beloved, or both. Sohrab is playing with that tradition while grounding it in real images: alleys, trees, children climbing pines. Abbas Kiarostami borrowed the title for a film about a boy searching for his classmate’s house. the same question, made literal. For learners, pay attention to how Sohrab gives concrete directions using mystical geography. The vocabulary is mostly accessible; the metaphors are where the challenge lives.

Poem 5: Hafez. Ghazal

Hafez of Shiraz (1325-1390) is the heavyweight. His دیوان (Divân) sits in almost every Iranian home. Families open it at random on Nowruz for a فال حافظ (fâl-e Hâfez. Hafez divination). whatever poem the book opens to is your fortune for the year. Some of the words you’ll see in the untranslatable Farsi words post come from his ghazals.

This ghazal is one of his most accessible. and one of the most quoted. The vocabulary is harder than the modern poems above, but the repetitive structure of the ghazal form helps: every couplet is somewhat self-contained.

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Line-by-Line Breakdown

اگر آن ترک شیرازی به دست آرد دل ما را
agar ân tork-e Shirâzi be dast ârad del-e mâ râ
"If that Shirazi Turk would take my heart in hand"

به خال هندویش بخشم سمرقند و بخارا را
be khâl-e hendu-yash bakhsham Samarqand o Bokhârâ râ
"for her Hindu mole I’d give away Samarkand and Bukhara"

بده ساقی می باقی که در جنت نخواهی یافت
bedeh sâghi mey-e bâghi ke dar jannat nakhâhi yâft
"Give me, cupbearer, the remaining wine. for in paradise you won’t find"

کنار آب رکن‌آباد و گلگشت مصلا را
kenâr-e âb-e Roknâbâd o golgasht-e Mosallâ râ
"the banks of Roknabad’s water, or the rose-walks of Mosalla"

فغان کاین لولیان شوخ شیرین‌کار شهرآشوب
faghân k-in luliyân-e shukh-e shirin-kâr-e shahr-âshub
"Alas! These playful, sweet-acting, city-stirring gypsies"

چنان بردند صبر از دل که ترکان خوان یغما را
chonân bordand sabr az del ke torkân khân-e yaghmâ râ
"have plundered patience from my heart the way Turks plunder a feast"

ز عشق ناتمام ما جمال یار مستغنی‌ست
ze eshgh-e nâtamâm-e mâ jamâl-e yâr mostaghni-st
"The beloved’s beauty has no need of our incomplete love"

به آب و رنگ و خال و خط چه حاجت روی زیبا را
be âb o rang o khâl o khat che hâjat ru-ye zibâ râ
"What need has a beautiful face for cosmetics, moles, and lines?"

Vocabulary

• ترک. tork. Turk (in classical poetry: the beautiful beloved)
• خال. khâl. mole (beauty mark)
• هندو. hendu. Hindu/Indian (in poetry: dark, as in a dark beauty mark)
• بخشیدن. bakhshidan. to give away, to forgive
• ساقی. sâghi. cupbearer (the one who pours wine. a key Sufi symbol)
• می. mey. wine
• جنت. jannat. paradise
• فغان. faghân. lamentation, alas
• لولی. luli. gypsy, wandering person
• صبر. sabr. patience
• یغما. yaghmâ. plunder, raid
• جمال. jamâl. beauty (of face)
• مستغنی. mostaghni. self-sufficient, having no need

Cultural Context

This is the ghazal that every Iranian knows. The opening line sparked a legend: they say Tamerlane was furious that Hafez would "give away" Samarkand and Bukhara. two jewels of his empire. for a mole. Hafez supposedly replied, "It’s because of such generosity that I’m this poor." (The story is almost certainly invented, but Iranians love telling it.)

The ساقی (sâghi) and می (mey) in Hafez are never just about drinking. In the Sufi reading, wine is divine ecstasy, the cupbearer is the spiritual guide, and intoxication is the loss of ego in the presence of God. But Hafez always keeps both readings alive. the literal and the mystical. That ambiguity is what makes him Hafez.

Reading Poetry as a Language Learner

Poetry builds a different kind of Farsi muscle than prose. Here’s what you’re actually training:

Ear for rhythm. Persian poetry is musical. Read these poems aloud. even badly. and you’ll start hearing the natural stress patterns of Farsi. That transfers directly to better pronunciation and listening comprehension.

Vocabulary from different eras. Hafez gives you classical words that still appear in modern speech: صبر (sabr. patience), عشق (eshgh. love), جمال (jamâl. beauty). Forough and Sohrab give you modern literary vocabulary. Together, they cover a huge range.

Cultural literacy. When your Iranian friend quotes "khâne-ye dust kojâst?" or drops a Hafez couplet, you’ll actually get the reference. That’s worth more than a hundred textbook dialogues. The Persian poetry series goes deeper into each poet if you want more.

FAQ

Poetry is the cheat code to sounding culturally fluent in Farsi. If you want to build on the vocabulary from these poems. and actually remember it next week. ZabanYar lets you save words with context and reviews them at the right intervals. Add the words that hit you and let the app do the memorization work.]]>

These five poems are just the beginning. For the complete collection of Persian poetry with line-by-line Farsi, transliteration, and English, see our Persian Poetry for Learners guide.