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YOU CAN NOT READ THIS POEM IF YOU WERE NOT SHOT IN THE EYES
P.S: In 2022, protests for freedom and equality erupted in Iran after Mahsa Amini's death, met with brutal government repression. Security forces intentionally blinded hundreds of protestors by shooting them in the eyes. This poem honors those wounded and blinded. Though their physical sight may be damaged, their wounds have transformed their vision, revealing a deeper reality and a clearer view of injustice.
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With the finger of a cane
Death is pointing each moment
That death…
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10 → This is where you woke up
4 → This is where you read that news
8 → You paused for a moment here
9 → This is where you took a shower
7 → You took your clothes off the drying rack
6 → You had breakfast
11 → You stood in front of the mirror
5 → You walked a little here
3 → This is where you made your decision
2 → And you didn't take this
1 → You took the stairs
P.S: This poem is dedicated to Abolfazl Adinehzadeh, a 17-year-old, whowas killed by security forces during protests in Mashhad on October 8, 2022. These protests were part of Woman, Life, Freedom demonstrations. Instead of attending school, Abolfazl joined the protests: he traded textbooks for the streets.
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The sun and moon
play on a cosmic seesaw
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Song of the Dead
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Verbal Möbius Strip
Ali Asadollahi is an award-winning Iranian poet, based in Tehran, and the author of six books of Persian poetry. He is a permanent member of the Iranian Writers’ Association (est. 1968). His work has appeared in Bellingham Review, Consequence, Denver Quarterly, Epoch, Hayden’s Ferry Review, MPT and others.