پیش پای تو می‌میرم My Last Breath is Yours هوشنگ ابتهاج سایه Hooshang Ebtehaj Sayeh

Come, Let Me Die after Sayeh (Hooshang E. Ebtehaj) Come, let me fall, a crimson rose, before your feet and die; Come, life—there is no truer death than this: for you to die. I live through all this night in longing for the dawning light; You’ll come, and like a candle drowned in daybreak, I will die. Let strangers grieve to see my flame go guttering and low; Their pity’s nothing: on your threshold, home at last, I die. I fall, I fall, yet all my dreams still circle round your face; You slay me, and I lift my hands to bless you as I die. Do what you will with Sayeh, love—this shadow at your feet; I ask no more of love than this: still true to you, to die. *Love as surrender:* The speaker places life at the beloved’s feet, making devotion the defining purpose of existence. *The central paradox:* The lover survives separation by imagining a reunion in which life can finally be surrendered. Hope sustains the very life being offered. *Repetition as an emotional pulse:* The recurring *“I die”* develops from a vow into a hope, a reproach, a blessing, and finally a declaration of fidelity. *Compassion and silence:* Strangers are moved by the speaker’s suffering, while the beloved’s long-familiar heart offers no spoken response. This contrast reveals the pain of unequal love. *Devotion despite injury:* Although exhausted and wounded, the speaker continues to desire the beloved’s face and raises hands in prayer **for the beloved’s well-being**. *The symbolism of Sayeh:* Meaning *“shadow,”* the name suggests a diminished but persistent self. “Bereft of heart” conveys a heart surrendered to love. *Fidelity as a final choice:* The speaker cannot control the beloved’s actions but can choose to remain faithful. This gives surrender an element of resolve. *Human and spiritual possibilities:* The poem can express romantic longing or spiritual devotion; its language leaves the beloved’s identity open.