SUMAC

ARASH

My mother wanted to name me Arash at first,

after the Iranian archer

My mother's voice, with a mournful timbre

as she wept ever so slightly,

regaled me with the hero's story:

a kingdom had been surrounded by an army,

and to save the people and return their land,

a man was called upon to shoot a bow

whose arrow would determine their fate;

however far the arrow would go

was to be the new edge of the kingdom;

the mythic Arash and his special bow

were able to launch that arrow

farther than the eye could see,

but then he died from the recoil,

according to what my mother said

as she tried to avoid showing me

that the story made her cry,

as she told me about the name

I could have had and why

And it feels like I am still Arash,

deep down, beneath my skin

My name is not Arash,

but I cannot deny the fact

that it could have been

I am Arash at heart;

this is my arrow:

it flies across my poetry,

and it is made of my art

This is my arrow;

tell me how far it goes

Tell me because I want to know

My mother wanted to name me Arash at first,

after the Iranian archer

And this was my arrow; so, now is my departure

NOWRUZ

This was the first Nowruz in five years

that I spent with my family,

the first Persian New Year in far too long

that I actually celebrated in some way

In the years I studied abroad,

my observance of the holiday

was practically non-existent

In the years I studied abroad,

it seems I forgot how important

it is to be with one's family

During Nowruz, it is imperative

to be with family if you can

Persian New Year is not meant

to be lonely, but mine often was

I still often forget the items

that make up the Haft Sin

I still don't know their symbolism;

I don't get what they mean,

but that's not stopping me

from enjoying the fact

that I am seeing the table

set so well and decorated nicely

This was the first Nowruz in five years

that I spent with my family

And all I can say is that there is still so much

I wish to know about Persian culture

There is so much I intend to learn

so that I can do more than just sing

“happy birthday” in Farsi,

so that I can truly appreciate

what it means to be Persian,

what it means to be with my family

During Nowruz, it is imperative

to be with your family if you can

Persian New Year is not meant

to be lonely, but mine often was

It won't be anymore though

I won't be on my own

because I live where I belong:

where my heart feels at home,

a place where my mind goes

when I'm ever away

because now I'm here,

and this is where I'll stay