Privilege

By Sahar Shokati
January 22, 2003
The Iranian

You said
A royal history of great civilizations runs though my blood
You recited
Words that formed poetic portraits
From philosophers that documented the land of my nobles

Theology... philosophy... the arts...
Beauty in all forms passed down to me
The riches of a land
The culture of kings
The intellect of scholars
Mapped into strands of my composition

You said
I am the offspring of the reed flute
Whose delicate music seduced warriors into submission
You sang
Verses of freedom
Against the oppressors that bound my legacy
I traced
The world along the edges of my birth soil
You spoke
In my native tongue
I heard
The sound of cypress trees swaying near the Caspian

I embraced
My history through your teachings
I discovered
The chronicles of my imperial traditions
Proud and esteemed, I boasted of my privilege
For without my land, I would not be
I followed your instructions to enlightenment
And believed that love endures without time

You said
The creators of theology, philosophy, the arts are we
You said
Beauty in all forms passed down to me
You said
Intellectual freedom cannot be oppressed
You swore
I was created of love and of love I shall be

Don't grieve now that I walk with angels
Along the road you told me to take
Everything I am is from the vision you furnished
My future is written with the accomplishments of my past
The strength of my lineage is you
With ancestry I am of privilege you said...
I said with love of privilege I am

Copyright 2002 Sahar S. Shokati©



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