If

by Bänoo Zan / April 21st, 2024

If

If I was the leader
of my land

I would not be
the caliph of god
or the prince by blood

I would be—
skeptic—heretic—traitor—

burn the flags
of Allah and Nation

Ceasefire my coup d’etat

I would plant poetry in the streets
let words undress every strand
dance naked with the wind—

My people—not subjects but citizens—
would break the idols—

gather around the bonfire
of ancient bones

and worship the light

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, April 21st, 2024 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.