The Gathering at Table Ferdowsi
When evening fell, the fourteenth of November,four houses met for a feast they would remember. The table bore the poet’s name, Ferdowsi;so let the bill be sung, and sung precisely.
A humble homage to the شاهنامه, the Book of Kings, from four families who love it and who also, on this occasion, ate a great deal of kebab.
The Deeds of the Four Houses
Each house is remembered by its feats. Here they are, exactly as ordered.
The Riddle of the Third Yogurt
Three yogurts came. Two heroes spoke their claim.The third was served, and yet it bears no name.
The Tribute Owed
No sword was drawn; no champion fled the hall.The feast is done. The tribute falls on all.
The division of the realm
Each house’s share of the whole bill.
Tap a slice of the realm for its particulars.
What each tribute is made of
Every house’s total, piece by piece, on one scale.
Tap any band for its amount. The red one is the yogurt.
The Royal Accountant’s Ledger
Here ends the verse. The accountant speaks in prose;he does not rhyme, but every cent he knows.