Exiled Poet – Reza Baraheni

Reza Baraheni is a fomer Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Tehran, also former President of Canadian PEN. Below is a few poems form a book of poetry he published in English in 1976, God’s Shadow: Prison Poems is a collection of poems based on a period of 102 days spent in solitary confinement in Iran, during the time of the Shah. He was also imprisoned in the fall of 1981 and the winter of 1982 by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Nostalgia

Oh if a man could crawl out of here
as a snake or lizard, and go-no!
Grow wings
and take flight, fly
to a place where the world no longer resembles a dirty rumor
a place where the scorched feast of sand
stretches to be alone without
even hands or feet, without head, without cock
to be…
And the sea wash him constantly
like the luminous presence of a stone, smooth
circular
the sea wash him constantlyCrying

I remember well, yes, well
when I was sitting there, alone
in the toilet
And
I was crying
and it was the 11th of cold December

It is difficult for me to cry in public

I said, Guard
toilet here!
Come and take me, guard

It was the 11th of a cold December

This time the guard came a bit faster
as if he somehow knew
that the flowing of tears and bursts of sobbing would disgrace me

When he opened the door I was already running
The guard shouted after me
Run, run before you piss your pants
Allah willing, you will not disgrace yourself

I said:
There is no power
There is neither might nor strength but in God!

Yesterday they took away our friend
and killed him
It is very difficult for me to cry in public

Then I was sitting alone in the toilet
and

I was crying

It was the 11th of cold December
I remember well, yes, well