Reminder to Self

Nasrin found a scrap of paper with this poem inscribed in the personal effects of her late mother, Oranous. Yes, the name is the same as the planet. I always knew her to be a lover of Persian poetry. This ad se ipsam memorandum shows that she did indeed approach her own life poetically.

To live is to secrete a pearl within one’s own shell,
to forge a gem with concentrated inner flame.
Those who dwell within are not victims of dream.
They compose another world from this one’s dross.

After an anonymous Persian poem

زندگی‌ در صدف خویش گهر ساختن است
در دل‌ شعله فرورفتن و بگداختن است
مذهب زنده دلان خواب پریشانی نیست
از همین خاک جهان دگری ساختن است