Elegy for a Young Woman Assassinated in Iran

Although I write fiction, I have a love of poetry instilled in me first by my father, and fostered by the brilliant English teachers at school. One of my best discoveries since joining Twitter has been coming across a wonderful poet who blogs here. Alot of poetry can be pretentious or difficult. Semaphore writes of things that matter, so beautifully and simply, he can reduce you to tears. He's very kindly allowed me to post this moving poem about the young woman killed in Iran. Read it and weep. And if you like it, check out his other stuff, it's amazing.


Elegy for a Young Woman Assassinated in Iran

Yours the first death, the messenger, the voice,
Crying out of Persia,
By a single shot from this life untimely ripped.
Louder now than that gunshot grows the noise,
Neda, rohat shad,
Anguished lamentation, by sorrow swept.

Where now your heart, bullet sequestered
Like a stricken love
In your severed auricle?
Sister, you fell
Burning, but with that fall you shattered
Our glass lives, removed
From our unseeing eyes the folded veil.

For now we cannot mourn you at Haft-e Tir
Or Behesht-e Zahra,
Instead commemorate you from our homes.
With prayer we recall you fallen, martyred
As if in Karbala,
Solitary voices raised, no longer alone.

Thus we offer up our invocation
To your final breath.
Beyond the seventh and the fortieth day,
Let resound life’s majestic insurrection
Against this first death –
Be not afraid, be not afraid, be not afraid.