Where I come from
Uncles pinch your cheeks;
Grandma makes you eat
Pomegranate and peaches,
Sweet, sweet juicy pears.



Where I come from
We sit cross legged on the carpet
Learning how to taarof
Every dish that is passed:
Chello kebab and aesh reshteh,
Tender, tender ghormeh sabzi.



Where I come from
We kiss more than twice;
Men dance with men;
Homesick Dariush remembering;
Dolente strings and young Googoosh,
Longing, longing forgotten country.



Where I come from
I can never be.
Never treading the same river twice.
No memory can loosen free
Moneyed mullahs and grasping goons.
Fallen, fallen Farsi dreams.