for the people of Iran
The townspeople are hungry *
for bread and freedom
The streets are rivers
bubbling with chants
Crowds break into the food storage
of revolutionary guards
not to loot
but to rip the rice bags
throw fistfuls overhead
reenact the Milky Way
against the night of news blackout
We are protestors
not rioters
We fear bullets
but we fear silence more
In this torrent of blood
courage is not a laurel wreath
but a lifeline
May joy echo in our mountains
May justice wash the blood off our valleys
May our twin lakes be ^
as lucid as freedom
* “Abdanan” means “the city of water.” Located in Ilam Province, Iran, it was the scene of a remarkable protest on January 6, 2026.
^ These twin lakes are called the Black Bull Lakes. They are known for their clear blue water, although where the depth increases, the water appears to be black. The overall patterns of blue and black look like spots on a cow’s hide.
Bänoo Zan is a poet, translator, and curator, with numerous published pieces and 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 and brave poetry open mic series (inception 2012). It bridges the gap between poets from different ethnicities, nationalities, religions (or lack thereof), ages, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, poetic styles, voices, and visions. Bänoo, with Cy Strom, is the co-editor of the anthology: Woman Life Freedom: Poems for the Iranian Revolution. She is the recipient of the 2025 Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award.
