| A Brief Note on the
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| A Brief Note on the
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Muhammad Hassan Rahi Mo'ayeri was born in 1910 into a noble and distinguished family of Tehran, Iran. His grandfather, Mo'ayer al-Mamalik Nizam al-Daula was Nasir al-Din Shah's treasurer. In fact, Rahi's ancestors had held high offices in Iran's government from the ascension of Nadir Shah Afshar until the fall of the Qajar dynasty to the Pahlavis in 1925. Additionally, the Mo'yeri family, including Mirza Abbas Forughi Bastami, was among the most outstanding contributors to the promotion of Persian literature and culture.
Rahi Mo'ayeri began his poetic career in 1923 with the following quatrain that appeared in Tehran newspapers:
I wish that beauty would visit tonight,
And crown my desires with delight;
The lip that inspire life in me is away,
And death's presence nowhere in sight.
Neither was poetry the only art in which Rahi excelled. He was a good painter and an accomplished musician as well. In addition, he was a prolific composer and an avid reader. He is reported to have read all the works of the traditional poets, concentrating on the works of Sa'di, Hafiz, and Rumi. Many of his lyrics are based on the contributions of the greats of Persian literature and continue to be a source of delight for Iranian audiences. In fact, in the 1950's and 1960's the works of Rahi Mo'ayeri, both his poetical works and his satires, were broadcast widely by Iran radio and later by Iran television as well. His critical essay, it should be noted, were usually published under such pseudonyms as "Zaghche" and "Shah-i Pariyan."
In 1958, Rahi accompanied a group of Iranian scholars to Turkey where he visited the mausoleum of Maulana Jalal-al-Din Rumi. He also traveled to the Soviet union, Afghanistan, Italy, and France.
Rahi Mo'ayeri writes in the style of the traditional masters, emulating mostly the works of Shaykh Muslih al-Din Sa'di Shirazi. In this he joins three other major poets: Helali, Forughi Bastami, and Mu'tamid al-Daula Nishat. All four are distinguished for their maturity of theme and simplicity of diction. Here is an example of Sa'di's influence on Rahi Mo'ayeri:
The more our life's light dwindles,
The more painful our existence grows;
The more westerly the sun travels,
The more lengthy our shadow shows.
Restive flamesWritten by: Translated by Looking at tulips, Seeing sweet flowers, By the flickering candle, With the butterfly's visit Like the deer that escaped The creek's weeping Seeing the town, | The Noose of FateWritten by: Translated by A gentle fellow, There a fierce lion, When he looked above, His head swam, He could not ascend, He threw himself, From the air, ere Saved from two dangers, Of two dangers though saved, He escaped, he thought, When Time so decrees You're but a small morsel, Were you the sun,
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