I'm every woman
For Zahra Kazemi

April 19, 2005
iranian.com

Sister,
I see your photography for the first time,
A random sampling on the news
Sensitive and layered
they reveal how you put your subject at ease
An uneasy subject
making passionate documents
perfectly still and strong
Bearing witness and capturing truth in frozen glances.

Where have they buried you sister?

Sister,
who witnessed your demise?
Who photographs the photographer?
They were watching you
they had seen you a generation before
Stuck between parallel worlds
there are so many of us
shy smiles
high cheekbones
photos of photos of photos of photos

How they must have outnumbered you
The soulless Goons
Our Brothers
How dare they touch your hair
Did they hit you with their bare hands
Their weapons hardening between their legs
Their rush of righteous power

Did anyone ever stop mid-blow
to doubt himself
his right

Where have we buried you sister?

In our collective past and present
that only dances with cliches and plays with prototypes
In our collective muted screams
we have buried ourselves with our own hands

About
Samira Mohyeddin is an Iranian / Canadian and has a degree in Religion and Middle Eastern Studies from the Uni'ersity of Toronto, and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Women's Studies and Middle Eastern Studies there. See her weblog: SmiraMohyeddin.blogspot.com