Soodabeh Saeidnia was born in Iran and now lives in New York with her husband and nine year-old son. Her poetry has been previously published in Indiana Voice Journal and othe journals. Most recently, her poem "Magic list" passed semifinal contest of PoetryNation and has been accepted to be published in their book "The Dwells of Minds". Her newest book, "Street of the Ginkgo Trees" is available online. She received a Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. She has written roughly 150 scientific papers for various academic journals, as well as books in both English and Farsi.
Darwin Theory and ME
My ancestors were not apes, I’m sure
If they’d been, I should have lived carefree,
joyously, with a pear in between my teeth
hanging on trees
My ancestors were not dolphins, I’m sure
If they’d been, I should have been intelligent
ingenious, cheery, friendly
or at least smiley
My ancestors were not lions, I’m sure
If they’d been, I should have behaved as a king
understanding, dignified, respectful,
not like hyenas or wolves
My ancestors were not dinosaurs, I’m sure
If they’d been, I should have been… nothing
They have already been extinct
Obviously, they didn’t look like me anyway
My ancestors might have been the African elephants
or the huge Megalodons in the oceans
or even the Sequoia trees in California
Whatever they were, I’ve not been evolved perfectly!
All due respect, I guess my DNA was not so pure,
and for that, I’m wayward, stuffy and stubborn
afraid other animals evolve faster than me
Oh Darwin, are you sure about your theory?!
Borderline
I felt like a wind
trapped in a sail
or a burning cigarette
forgotten on the ashtray
I spent the whole night unveiling
the old wound that was bleeding
again on the scattered sheets
I will not soon forget the way
I was driving on the road,
under the misty weather of the Gulf War
The way the barbed wires tore off my thoughts
right after you passed the soldiers
and they yelled at me to stand farther away
You should have backed home
I wished you could carry your home-
wherever you want- on your back like a turtle
or at least you could adapt yourself
to another home but you told me
I am not a hermit crab who uses the shell of a sea snail
I won’t soon forget how
after I had roasted my dreams
over an open ceasefire,
a mailman-not older than 40 springs-
handed me an envelope with a big red stamp
and told me “the recipient was not found”
~Soodabeh Saeidnia
Darwin Theory and ME
My ancestors were not apes, I’m sure
If they’d been, I should have lived carefree,
joyously, with a pear in between my teeth
hanging on trees
My ancestors were not dolphins, I’m sure
If they’d been, I should have been intelligent
ingenious, cheery, friendly
or at least smiley
My ancestors were not lions, I’m sure
If they’d been, I should have behaved as a king
understanding, dignified, respectful,
not like hyenas or wolves
My ancestors were not dinosaurs, I’m sure
If they’d been, I should have been… nothing
They have already been extinct
Obviously, they didn’t look like me anyway
My ancestors might have been the African elephants
or the huge Megalodons in the oceans
or even the Sequoia trees in California
Whatever they were, I’ve not been evolved perfectly!
All due respect, I guess my DNA was not so pure,
and for that, I’m wayward, stuffy and stubborn
afraid other animals evolve faster than me
Oh Darwin, are you sure about your theory?!
Borderline
I felt like a wind
trapped in a sail
or a burning cigarette
forgotten on the ashtray
I spent the whole night unveiling
the old wound that was bleeding
again on the scattered sheets
I will not soon forget the way
I was driving on the road,
under the misty weather of the Gulf War
The way the barbed wires tore off my thoughts
right after you passed the soldiers
and they yelled at me to stand farther away
You should have backed home
I wished you could carry your home-
wherever you want- on your back like a turtle
or at least you could adapt yourself
to another home but you told me
I am not a hermit crab who uses the shell of a sea snail
I won’t soon forget how
after I had roasted my dreams
over an open ceasefire,
a mailman-not older than 40 springs-
handed me an envelope with a big red stamp
and told me “the recipient was not found”
~Soodabeh Saeidnia
