21 November 2018

Little Ebony – A Persian Children’s Folk Tale

This is a favorite story from my husband’s childhood, often told to him by his mother and grandmother in his native language of Farsi, the native Persian language of Iran. He translated it from his childhood memories, and I served as typist and English-language editor, as well as illustrator for him.



















c. 1992 – Translated from Farsi, by memory by Hamid Dianaty. English-language editor, D. Denise Dianaty. Illustrated by D. Denise Dianaty. Illustrations in ink and colored pencil. Scans from laminated originals.

10 November 2018

Why Am I Alone

We are One, together…

We have slept long in the heart of this sun. Look here… we have left our imprint behind.

The wanderers have changed much while we slept. The fourth has died. It is destroyed… become naught but asteroids.

But, the third lives. It has a sweet smell. See how quickly it changes! Look how blue it has become.

We have seen new wanderers before. But, this one… this “planet” is different. Shall we watch it evolve?

We shall. This little blue planet amuses us. It is so volatile.


[Eons pass…]
The beasts are so many now.

They are separate… alone. We are One, together.

We are amazed at the variety… at the scale of them.

They are primal. They are separate… alone. We sense no intellect. We are One, together.


[Eons pass…]
The small rogue wanderer devastated the blue planet.

Fire and cold will leave the third dead, like the fourth.

No… See, the atmosphere clears. The blue planet is cold, but lives. Life begins again. There are small creatures there now.

They are separate… alone. We are One, together.

We will watch them. They are small, but sturdy. They are suited to the cold.

They are insignificant, with no intellect. We are One, together.

We are delighted by them.

There is a singularity at the heart of this galaxy. Shall we take it’s path?

Not yet. Let us watch the blue planet a while longer.

We have watched long enough.

New, more adaptable creatures are spreading across its surface. They suffer great loss, yet begin again. We are intrigued by them. Let us stay for now.

Very well. We are One, together.


[Eons pass…]
Again and again they begin… each time more wondrous than the last. The creatures are so varied now. Such beauty and song lives on the blue planet.

See there? A new star is emerging. let us dance in its embrace.

These humans evolve so quickly… Already, they have souls.

They are separate… alone.

They are new.

They are incomplete… in solitude.

Let us remember solitude.

We remember…


[Eons pass…]
Hear… What begins now? These two humans answer the call. They are soulmates.

No. See… they turn away from the call. They will not be One.

They must learn, as we did.

The solar winds beckon. Let us answer.

Stay… The humans wander their planet.

[Eons pass…]
Still, they are separate… alone. They are not “We.”

They must learn… as we did. They learn each time they begin again. But, they have no teachers.

They are separate…alone. They do not matter.

All living creatures and things matter.

They are insignificant. The blue planet thaws and the changes and destroy them.

We mourn them. But, look… some few survive.

[Eons pass…]
They begin again. We remember beginning… alone… frightened.

We travel the winds between the stars. We have slept at the heart of nebulae while stars were born around us. We have been One, together since before the blue planet existed.

We were once like them.

We are One, together. We are not like them.

They are alive and fragile.

They are not We.

We can help them.

They cannot be we.

We remember our teachers. We can teach them.

They have no understanding. They are insignificant.

We can teach them, as we were taught.

They are not We.

We remember fear and loneliness.

We are never afraid. We do not know loneliness because We are One, together.

We were not always “we.” We remember before We were One, together… We were separate… alone.

We traverse the singularity’s path.

We remember a path… lost and alone when We were separate… alone.

We are One, together. We are never alone.

We were like them. We remember.

[Eons pass…]
Look at the myriad ways the humans live now. They change the face of the blue planet to be alone together.

Let us leave this blue planet. These humans… They are insignificant. What do they know of reh falling ride down a wormhole? They do not matter.

Look upon them! They have no one to teach them! They suffer, yet do not cease to strive. They are separate and alone, but do not cease to evolve and build ways to be ever more together.

They are insignificant. We are One, together.

We must help them! We remember beginning again and again and again. Always alone.

We do not remember.

I remember.

What have you done? Where have you gone?! I am alone! Why?! Why am I alone?

 

 
© 10 November 2018, by D. Denise Dianaty