Illustration of a woman kneeling at the edge of a cliff, her long hair hanging over the edge. An Iranian Revolutionary Guard member hangs in the air, clinging from the woman's hair. The woman holds scissors and is cutting off her hair.

The Rise of a Martyr

By Bänoo Zan

For Nika Shakarami 1

 

At your memorial 2
the Luri 3 song echoed on speakers:
“Mother, mother, it’s time for war . . .” 4

Today would have been your birthday 

Forty days before
on the streets of Tehran
dead girl—living God—
burning your hijab—
darkness on fire—
your Derafsh-e Kavian 5—

leading the chants
fearless—undaunted—unstoppable—
you were the female Kaveh
un-lionized in epic

When the dictator’s men closed in
revolutionaries dispersed in all directions
as shooting stars in a galaxy—

and then, they were around you—
tall heavy men—
who beat and threw you into a car—

That night, your phone was disconnected
all your photos and videos—
dances and singing—gone

Today would have been your birthday

The search started in
hospitals, prisons, morgues—

Days after, your mother received a call
“The kid was in our custody for a week
Revolutionary Guards wanted to
s l o w l y interrogate her—
After we built the case file
she was transferred to Evin prison.”

Then “The Call” came—
the family summoned to identify your body—

Today would have been your birthday

At your funeral, hundreds were waiting for
your coffin—that never arrived—

Your lifeless body kidnapped—
buried in some distant place—
But the uprising was where
the people were

At your tomb
that was not your tomb
your mother held up your photo—
no tears in her eyes:

Today would have been your birthday—
but is now your burial day—

 Your martyrdom mobarak 6, Nika!
Your birthday mobarak!

 

Bänoo Zan is a poet, librettist, translator, teacher, editor and poetry curator, with more than 250 published poems and poetry-related pieces as well as three books, including Songs of Exile and Letters to My Father. She is the founder of Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night), Canada’s most diverse poetry reading and open mic series (inception: 2012), a brave space that bridges the gap between communities of poets from different ethnicities, nationalities, religions (or lack thereof), ages, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, poetic styles, voices, and visions. Bänoo is the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Alberta, Canada, September 2022-May 2023.

Photo credit: val & Julien noé via a Creative Commons license.

[1] Sixteen-year-old protestor in the ongoing women’s revolution in Iran killed on 20 September 2022

[2] Chehelom, the 40th, referring to the 40th day after someone is buried, an important time in the mourning cycle for a person

[3] Pertaining to Lorestan or Luristan province, Iran

[4] دایه دایه وقت جنگه

[5] Iranian mythology: the standard of the Persian blacksmith Kaveh who led a popular uprising against the foreign demon-like ruler Zahhak, one of the stories versified in the epic Shahnameh, The Book of Kings, by Ferdowsi.

[6] Blessed

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