Mother Afghanistan
For the people of Afghanistan and for my mother Masoumeh Mazaheri of Babol, Iran
by Bänoo Zan / August 15th, 2021
Mother died
and Afghanistan is falling—
Not that mother followed the world any more
The Alzheimer’s washed her clean of conflicts
She could not remember her name
or her departed husband’s
real and imagined transgressions
Mother died
and the death toll of the pandemic
rose to one person a minute in my land
In Afghanistan foreign forces withdrew
under the cover of night
and the Taliban demanded that young girls
be “married” to their fighters in broad daylight
In Kabul, refugees live on streets
trembling at the no-longer-unimaginable
fall of Kabul
Mother fell
and I wonder
if I can still stand
Rise up, Mother!
Remember who you are
Remember your name
Bänoo Zan is a poet, librettist, translator, teacher, editor and poetry curator, with more than 250 published poems and poetry-related pieces as well as three books including
Songs of Exile and
Letters to My Father. She is the founder of Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night), Toronto’s most diverse and brave poetry reading and open mic series (inception: 2012). Her social media links are:
LinkedIn;
Instagram;
Facebook;
Twitter Bänoo, along with Cy Strom, is the co-editor of the anthology: Woman Life Freedom: Poems for the Iranian Revolution, scheduled for publication in 2025.
Read other articles by Bänoo.
This article was posted on Sunday, August 15th, 2021 at 8:03am and is filed under Poetry.
