“The Veil of Dream” by Vida Farhoudi is a contemplative work of contemporary Persian poetry exploring love, hope, human connection and the choice between illusion and a more meaningful way of living. Presented here in English as part of Persian Poetry After Dark, Farhoudi’s poem is reimagined through cinematic organic deep house, blending its rich poetic imagery with atmospheric contemporary electronic music. This English musical adaptation brings the reflective voice of a contemporary Iranian poet into a new musical landscape, introducing her poetry to a wider international audience.
- Genre: Cinematic Organic Deep-House
- Music & Lyric Adaptation: Tony Zohari
- Language: English
- Poet: Vida Farhoudi
- Original Language: Persian
- Themes: Iranian Poetry | Persian Poetry After Dark | In English
- Cover image: Hamed Farahpour
Lyric: The Veil of Dream
Why strike the lyre on fancy’s veil in vain?
Why play the solo lonely and wane?
Why like the blind bat in the silent cave drone?
Why shut the eye to the morning’s brilliant sun?
Why under the snow like partridge hide the head?
Why befriend the old and ugly crow in the mead?
Why deprive from the long moving wave of ambition?
Why evaporate like the bubble in the ocean?
Why tie our happiness to gnawing greed with rope?
Why forever enslave in the snare of carnal hope?
Why stay away from eternal vernal garden of love?
Why fear to cast the seeds of friendship in the grove?
O you who have seen the autumnal gale of the age,
Why eager to bind yourself to this worldly cage?
Why proudly drink wine in the cold plain of mistrust,
And avoid the fond cub-bearer who quenches the thirst?
A garden of rose buds from love’s misty rain,
Why dwell with the bramble in the arid plain?
About Vida Farhoudi
Vida Farhoudi is a contemporary Iranian poet and writer, born in Tehran in 1956. Although she studied political science, her enduring passion has been poetry and the arts, including painting and calligraphy. She has lived in France since 1999 and has published several collections of poetry, including Zolf-e Andisheh (Ringlet of Thought), Bi Moghaddameh (No Preface) and Sokout Agar Beshkand (If Silence Breaks). She has also worked as a translator, including on works connected with Jorge Luis Borges.
Farhoudi’s poetry brings together emotion, imagination and vivid poetic imagery, often exploring themes of love, longing, hope, memory and the human experience. Her work reflects both her connection to Persian literary traditions and her life between Iran and France.
“The Veil of Dream” captures this dreamlike quality, transforming intimate poetic imagery into an atmospheric musical experience. In Persian Poetry After Dark | In English, the poem is reimagined through contemporary electronic sounds, bringing Farhoudi’s words to a new audience in English.
