Politics

Spy Balloon

 

So, it has come to this:
the sky is filled with treacherous
balloons from the Far East
and I thought the Hindenburg age
had passed

Did you know
that … Read more

NIGHTMARE

 after “We Lived Happily During the War” by Ilya Kaminsky

We sent pop guns, but not
the right kind.

We sent firehoses, but too late
to help.

In our shiny … Read more

On Pilot Lights

The first time I saw a fire’s flame, I stood on the second floor of a third-story row home in my favorite place – my grandmother’s kitchen. The small space … Read more

The Revolution

The revolution is a rose—
petals blood-dew
thorns in flesh—

in a garden vast as homeland—

dips her petals in the pool of blood
and holds them up to the … Read more

The Pen

“Break the pens!”
The arch-Ayatollah said
And they did

Break the bones!

The man of God
is the man of death—

This is what has remained of
the mission of … Read more

Donald Trump Has Ruined My Life

  • by

Last night’s Breaking News! had no surprises, no shocking
revelations, no human drama. Just another humdrum story
of a feckless authoritarian and his desperate need
to bask in the blaring … Read more

Eu não falo português

Tonight
for the first time
in my life
I watch and wait
for the presidential
election results from Brazil

Eu não falo português/
I don’t speak Portuguese
relying on those … Read more

Trickle Down Man

I’m trickle down man, pleased to meet you I’m sure,
If you’re suffering from poverty my life is your cure;
The more you give me the better for you,
Sounds … Read more

Fifty minutes to sunset

they appear  down the hill onto his land. Sticks    metal pipes    M16

no faces    just eyes intent    piercing the air. He held onto his hoe

the Read more

To Zhina Amini

That day
a tired voice asks her
to free herself, dance under the city’s
weary sun.
She sings silently for freedom
and lets her beauty shine
across Tehran’s grey streets.… Read more