for the painter and the singer
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| Iran hanged teenagers Ayaz Marhoni and Mahmoud Asgari in 2005 because they were gay. Image source: ExecutedToday.com |
European parliament angers Iran with human rights resolution: Islamic republic dismisses MEP accusations of freedom of speech restrictions and call for executions moratorium. --The Guardian, April 7, 2014
Why cannot I forget that August mud
gray in the rain, the old revered facade
harsh in the afternoon, the stubborn god?
I still remember your unsaid goodbye,
the orchard’s hush, the throatless bulbul’s sigh,
the sudden air, the angel’s phantom lie.
The pomegranates are crimson now but odd.
If I’ll go first, recall that tulip bud
I gave you when the crescent moon unclad.
With covered eyes and limbs untied, I’ll try
to wilt and sway— together you and I.
In autumn do the soft persimmons die?
Beside you I’ll engrave that earth with blood.
With you I’ll tell the world our last aubade.
Raul Puzon is a human rights and LGBT activist who writes poetry and short fiction.