“This little space gradually grew large and larger until it occupied his whole heart and mind. An all-inclusive mass that, in spite of all his expertise and experience, was unnameable for him.”

“The sound of falling dices disturbs you. Why are they pleased with no game other than backgammon? Why don’t they play chess? Because you should shut your mouth up when playing chess, should think twice, should plan. You should make progress on different fronts to blindside your opponent. So that if he moves his knight, you can take his bishop, and if he moves his queen, you can take his rock, and so on until you gradually reach your goal. On the backgammon, however, all you can do is throw dices and boast and dawdle until your opponent is distracted and cannot decide, cannot risk it.”

“This is life: constant surprise. I no longer trust any of them. It’s as if people were made to disappoint each other. Because they turn to something else right when you need them – to what has nothing to do with your thought. That’s life. It’s all my life. When you trust people, you can not get anything except trust. The role of people is to spend time. This is the most essential and difficult task of every human being: filling the spots of time.”

The Oasis of Now: Selected Poems of Sohrab Sepehri Translators: Kazim Ali; Mohammad Jafar Mahallati Publication Date: October 2013 Publisher: BOA Editions ASIN: B00E257USY One should […]