Damavand 1977 – a poem by Roxanne Doty

Damavand 1977

The way the snow drifted 
then raged into a blizzard
and the roadside café, 
copper Samovar on the counter,
orange flames flickering 
in wood-burning stove, walls 
of tapestries with intricate designs,
a man behind the counter 
in harem pants and dark blazer, 
tea in clear glasses and Iranian brittle 
with pistachios, almonds and cardamom.

The way the snow covered the earth
in layers of sparkle, buried the sins
and follies of humanity, created a sense
of significance, cohesion, harmony
and the words home and belonging 
took on new meanings
as we sheltered from the storm
until it stopped and we continued 
to the Alborz mountain range
where at the end of the day we stood 
at the top of the highest ski trail 
and waited for the slopes
around us to empty.

The way we gazed into the distance 
at Mount Damavand, Persian symbol 
of strength and resistance, 18,000 feet 
above the ancient, troubled land
we had come to in search of ourselves
and it was just us and the pristine white
and the silence and peace and I imagined
that was what heaven might be like
if there were such a place
and an unnamable god waited for us.

Roxanne Doty lives in Tempe, Arizona. Her debut novel, Out Stealing Water, was published by Regal House Publishing, August 30. 2022. Her first poetry collection was published by Kelsay Books in the spring of 2024. She has published stories and poems in Third Wednesday, Quibble Lit, Superstition Review, Espacio Fronterizo, Ocotillo Review, Forge, I70 Review, Soundings Review, The Blue Guitar, Four Chambers Literary Magazine, Lascaux Review, Lunaris Review, Journal of Microliterature, NewVerseNews, International Times, Saranac Review, Gateway Review and Reunion-The Dallas Review. Her short story, Turbulence (Ocotillo Review) was nominated for the 2019 Pushcart prize for short fiction.