- Genre: Deep House, Persian Ambient Electronica, Cinematic
- Music & Lyric Adaptation: Tony Zohari
- Language: English
- Poet: Mehdi Akhavan-Sales
- Original Poem Title: تورا ای کهن بوم و بر دوستدارم
- Original Language: Persian
- Themes: Iranian Poetry | Persian Poetry After Dark | In English
- Cover Image: Akbar Nemati
Lyric: Ancient Land and Soil
If there is anything I love
in this empty world,
it is you—
my ancient land and soil.
O ancient elder,
eternally young,
I love you,
if there is anything I love.
O precious, time-worn Iran,
land of noble essence,
I love you.
O ancient birthplace of the great,
great-maker, glorious and renowned,
I love you.
Your artful thought still shines,
and I love your thought,
I love your art.
Ancient land,
ancient soil,
you live beneath my skin.
Ancient land,
eternal soul,
I love you.
Whether legend or history,
whether the telling of ancient ways,
I love it.
When the pen becomes a chisel,
and words are carved in stone
upon the mountains and valleys,
I love it.
When your stories are written
in musk-scented ink,
by reed and feathered quill,
I love them.
Your mysteries I praise
as though they were certainty.
Your truths, when revealed,
I cherish like a message from afar.
Ohrmazd and your ancient gods,
I honour them.
The sacred Farr,
the Fravashi of your ancestors—
I carry them within me.
And your ancient prophet,
pure and wise,
whose eyes could see the light…
Zoroaster.
Noble Zoroaster,
I love you more
than every sage,
more than every prophet.
Humanity has seen
no one better than him—
and shall see
no one better.
Ancient land,
ancient soil,
you live beneath my skin.
O precious Iran,
eternally young,
I love you.
I love you.
Mehdi Akhavan-Sales
Mehdi Akhavan-Sales (1928–1990), also known by his pen name M. Omid, was one of the defining voices of modern Persian poetry. Born in Mashhad, he became a major figure in the development of New Persian Poetry, bringing together the musical traditions of classical Persian verse with the freedom and contemporary language of Nima Yushij’s modernist form.
His poetry carries a powerful sense of history, homeland, loss and longing. Ancient Iran, its myths, landscapes and cultural memory frequently appear alongside the uncertainties of the modern world. His work is often marked by a deep melancholy, yet beneath that darkness remains a profound attachment to the land, its people and its enduring cultural memory.
Akhavan-Sales is particularly known for works such as Winter, The Ending of the Shahnameh, and From This Avesta. His language draws from both the classical Persian literary tradition and modern expression, creating a distinctive voice that can feel at once ancient and contemporary.
“Ancient Land and Soil” brings this spirit into a contemporary English musical setting—allowing Akhavan-Sales’s reflection on homeland, memory and belonging to resonate through sound, atmosphere and the language of Persian Poetry After Dark.
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