What They Say (For My Friend Baharak)

They say all the waters of the Earth converge beneath this place They say the winds of the four quarters of the World begin in the forest enclosing you They say nowhere is there bluer sky than the sky above you They say veins of precious metals abound in the rocks on which you stand They say the four seasons agreed to cycle through the year when time gathered them in this space They say the first woman and the first man to embrace in passion left their cries and sighs in the air you are now breathing They say female poets rendered mute by catastrophe became the earliest Muses when they became one with this place They say male poets who wrote only war epics invented lyric poetry here when the Muses touched them They say what must be said is said here, and what must be heard is heard here, without end They say if this place lives in your heart when you return to the World, you will live a pure life