Written by Fatemeh Etemadi
MOUNTAIN | Original artwork by BETHANY HERNANDEZ (age 11)
Narrator: Hello, children! How are you? How are you doing? On this beautiful summer day, I want to take you to Isfahan—the “Half of the World.”
One day, Mahan’s father had Promised to take Mahan and his friend on a trip. He took the children to visit the tomb of the great eleventh-century poet, Saeb Tabrizi, in Isfahan. If you would like to join the children on today’s outing and get to know this great poet, come along with us!
Father: Well, children, we’ve arrived at the tomb of our great poet, Saeb Tabrizi, in the Takht-e Foulad garden of Isfahan.
Mahan: How interesting! His tomb doesn’t have a building around it. It’s right in the middle of a garden.
Father: I like that too. It feels as if this great poet is still among the people. Look—the street is over there, and his tomb is right here. In a way, he feels very close to the people.
Shayan: It feels very friendly and welcoming.
Father: Yes.
Mahan: Dad, wasn’t he from Tabriz? Then, what is he doing in Isfahan?
Father: Mirza Mohammad Ali Saeb Tabrizi… well, some historians believe he was born in Isfahan, while others believe he was born in Tabriz. His father was one of the great merchants of the Safavid era, and by the order of Shah Abbas, the family moved from Tabriz to Isfahan and settled there.
Mahan: Oh, I see.
Father: Come a little closer. After this beautiful pool and these trees, you can see his grave. And this is his gravestone. Oh, what a beautiful verse they have written on it: “The heart of Saeb is a shrine for the people of the heart.” What a lovely welcome he has given us! It means that Saeb’s heart is so pure and full of feeling that kind and loving people respect and honor it.
Shayan: What an interesting gravestone!
Father: What caught your attention, my son?
Shayan: His gravestone has a little basin where water has collected.
Mahan: That’s really interesting! Someone has even put flower petals in it.
Father: How interesting that this was the first thing you noticed. Let me tell you a story, children. There is a library across the street. When I was in school, my friends and I used to borrow books from that library and come here to read them. One day, we asked our teacher the very same question, and she told us that this little basin was made so birds could drink water from it.
Children: How beautiful!
Father: Yes, very beautiful. When I was a child, I also had an imaginary sparrow. I used to come here and talk to him.
Children: An imaginary sparrow?!
Father: Yes. Children, I parked the car in the wrong place. I’m going to move it and come back.
Children: An imaginary sparrow…
[Imagination sound effect]
Chico: Hello, children.
Mahan: Who are you?
Chico: I’m a sparrow who comes here every day, drinks water, and recites poetry.
Shayan: How lucky you are! You must know this great poet very well.
Chico: Yes. So many people have come here, read his poems, and talked about him that I’ve learned a lot too. There was a lady named Professor Amir Banoo Karimi, a Saeb scholar and a professor at the University of Tehran. She used to come here often and tell me many things about this great poet.
Mahan: Tell us about him too!
Chico: For example, throughout his life, he learned many different sciences and traveled to many places—from Mecca and Mashhad to India and Kabul. His family was also interested in culture and poetry. Growing up in such a family, together with the influence of his travels, made him interested in writing poetry. Years later, he received the title of “Malek al-Shoara” from Shah Abbas.
Shayan: Oh, what does that mean?
Chico: The King of Poets.
Mahan: Oh, I see.
Chico: He also had a special style of poetry called the Indian style.
Mahan: What is that?
Chico: Every poet has a particular poetic style. Let me explain the Indian style to you. In this style, a poet describes ordinary things through unusual and fresh images. For example, instead of directly saying, “I’m sad” or “I’m happy,” the poet uses an imaginative image.
Children: Oh, I see.
Mahan: By the way, can you recite any of his poems?
Chico: Of course I can. In the mornings, I even sing in the garden.
Shayan: Then recite one for us.
Chico: He wrote an interesting couplet about Isfahan: “Instead of rubies and jewels from the land of Isfahan, Saeb will carry these colorful poems to the land of India.”
Mahan: How interesting! Does that mean he took poetry from Isfahan as a souvenir?
Chico: Yes, exactly.
Shayan: Then he must have served our land greatly.
Chico: Exactly. Take a look at the poems written on the wall. It says: “Saeb, your heart will never break, for with his words, he made Iran’s face glow red.”
Mahan: How beautiful! What does it mean?
Chico: It means that he made Iran proud through his poetry. You see, children, this is how the Indian style works. Instead of simply saying that he made Iran proud, the poet imagines Iran as a person whose face has become rosy and lively because of Saeb’s poetry.
Shayan: How interesting!
Mahan: Reading his poems is like solving a mystery—and it’s really beautiful.
Chico: Yes. You have to spend hours reading poetry and enjoying its beauty.
Shayan: I would love to become a Saeb scholar like Mrs. Karimi.
Mahan: Me too. I want to read all of his poems.
Chico: During his eighty-seven years of life, he is said to have written between sixty thousand and one hundred and twenty thousand lines of poetry.
Shayan: Wow! That’s so many. Then getting to know him must be very difficult. You would have to read all those lines.
Chico: Yes, it is a great task and requires determination. I think you can do it too. You just have to try, research, and study.
Mahan: We definitely will.
Shayan: Dear Chico, can you recite another poem for us?
Chico: Yes. “Be careful—it is by my wings that your wings can fly. Do not break me, for when you break me, you break yourself.”
Mahan: Tell us what it means too.
Chico: It means that people should take care of one another. If we hurt someone else, it is as if we have hurt ourselves.
Shayan: How beautiful!
Mahan: Let’s come here every day so you can recite poetry for us.
Chico: Of course! I would be very happy.
Father: Children! Children! Where is your attention? I’m back. I’ve been calling you, but it seems you couldn’t hear me.
Children: No, no. We’re paying attention.
Father: All right. Now let’s go and meet one of my friends. I have an appointment with him today, and he is a Saeb scholar. I asked him to come because of you.
Children: Let’s go! Let’s go!
Mahan: Being a Saeb scholar is our future job!
[They laugh.]
Shayan: Yes!
Narrator: Well, children, that was our outing for today. I hope you are feeling wonderful. Goodbye!
.
Fatemeh Etemadi is a twenty-nine-year-old writer, radio editor, and designer from Tehran, Iran. She has worked in radio for over a decade and has published several books, including Happy Child and Sangelaj. Her writing explores culture, history, storytelling, and the lives of ordinary people. She is interested in sharing stories from Iran with readers around the world.