Yalda

with a wool blanket tucked in my lap

I listen to the poetry of Hafiz being recited

by the man sitting opposite me

while a plate of samanu and oranges

is passed on to me.

The sun is waiting to rise

above the horizon

on the longest night of the year

when darkness ceases to overtake

the earth,

swallowed up by time

when light finally triumphs.

Six pomegranate seeds are consumed

by each of us, the sweet and slightly tart flavor

reminding us how the earth slowly warms

under the snowy mountains.

On the day Mithra is born

the earth witnesses peace and happiness,

waiting for the new life to spring forth.