Seasons: Twenty-Eight Poems of the Naked Soul: Volume Ii

By Nooshan Shekarabi

In Seasons: Twenty-Eight Poems of the Naked Soul, Volume II, poet Nooshan Shekarabi traces an interesting and dark journey over the past two years of her life. She writes bravely and honestly about love, hope, anguish, injustice, family, friendship, success, and longing. Her poetry is raw and filled with emotion that depicts the thoughts and feelings of an old soul in a young womans mind and body.

No matter our situation, we sometimes endure painful breakups. We are disappointed, ignored, and marginalized by others; we experience financial ups and downs. We worry about our families well-beingand we survive. The poems in this collection examine the reality of those dark places and of our ability to find hope again.

Irony

I am so broken that I am unable to recall the feeling of being whole.

Exhaustion is a disposition Ive grown to expect.

I am so angry that I am unable to manifest my rage effectively.

Disappointment is surrounding me no matter how much I deny it.

I am seduced by my daydreams of escaping to some cozy spot in Spain.

Responsibility is the commitment I have taken on willingly.

Despite all of this

I am so predisposed to believe in you again.

Hopefulness is ingrained in me relentlessly even now.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462001422

Nooshan Shekarabi

A returning author for I-Universe Publishing, Nooshan Shekarabi is a professor of political science, an Iranian immigrant, and residing in the United States since 1984. She currently works and lives in Southern California. This book is the third and final volume in her series of poetry books, Seasons.

Book preview

Contents

Dedication

Preface

The Girls of Salmeh

Residence

Surrender

How

Return To Me My Country

Carve Me a Tattoo

My Replacement

Irony

Whispers of Peace

Envy

Shelter

The Proposal

Fulfill This Request

Your Regime

His Words

The Naked Soul

Certainty

A Safe Haven

Much More than This

I’m Better than You

The Alternative

The Winter of Hope

Cherish

Advice

Home after a

Thousand Years

I’m a Thief

Solace for the Kind

I Have Found

My Mother Again

Dedication

To my mother, Farah, my father, Mohsen, my sister Negar, and my brother-in-law Hamid, thank you for being the source of any good and much love inside of me. Without you, nothing is possible. I love you all more than words could possibly express.

To those who have served as the source of much pain conveyed in these poems, thank you for my newfound wisdom. I will not apologize for my kind heart, because it is my greatest strength.

A very special note of gratitude to Mrs. Parisa Heidari-Shariati for taking my photos. Your talent as a photographer amazes me (www.parisaphotography.com), your friendship and support throughout the years humble me, and I love you dearly. The poem Cherish is in your honor.

Preface

After publishing Seasons: Twenty-Two Poems from My Heart, Volume I, I continued to write poetry in the midst of my work schedule and life routines. The publication of the first volume was liberating. I was very fortunate that the book was well received. I was especially moved by the positive feedback I had received from loved ones, as well as strangers, who seemed to relate to and appreciate the poems. I felt proud.

However, a number of events, most of which were not pleasant, occurred after the publication of the first volume. None of the events were experiences particularly out of the ordinary for