This is Episode 121 of Poems for the Speed of Life.

Today's poem is "Bani Adam", by Saadi Shirazi.

When we see news reports of Asia, of the Middle East, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, all that we see comes to us through a geopolitical prism. Over many decades, technology and globalism has made us hyper-aware of the geopolitical, but humans, up close, are not geopolitical beings. When we see the news from Asia, what we don’t see is the reality on the ground. The real lived lives of the people there.

This poem, by Saadi Shirazi, was written in the 13th century in Farsi, the language of Persia and modern day Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

It is about us, as a whole. Not as global geopolitics, but as oneness, as one human body, joined together in our small miracle in our unique part of the universe. The poem currently adorns a large handmade carpet on the wall of a meeting room of the United Nations building in New York.

This podcast includes a reading in the original language first, before an English translation.

You can find out more about the poem, and read various translations, on Wikipedia here.

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For a detailed outline of the mission and purpose behind this podcast, please check out Episode 100, "Why Poems for the Speed of Life?", in your podcast player or ⁠⁠click here to listen on Spotify⁠⁠.

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