The Forbidden: Poems from Iran and its Exiles

The Green of Iran

82 The Green of Iran Sholeh Wolpé For Iran’s youth who have kept the Green Movement alive No departures here. In Tehran out and in are closed, under and over, stained. Yet how green is the green of her sky. The clouds bleed this green, green the river, fields of rice, the moss that grows on Alborz mountain rocks. The earth births this green that the ants carry through the cracks of Evin’s* walls. The birds shit green on the turbans of bearded men. Green is the green of this land, the poplars lining parks, green inked letters of lovers holding hands in dark alleys where green is the color of eyes, the smell of dust swept clean. Green is the ears of geraniums on windowsills, and feet of roses in backyards, and the color of ponds populated with green- *Evin is Tehran’s notorious prison in which political prisoners are held and tortured. 83 scaled fish, and frogs who sing to the night dreams of green. Protests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election against the disputed victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and in support of opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world starting June 13, 2009. The protests were given several titles by their proponents including Green Revolution, Green Wave, or Sea of Green, reflecting presidential candidate Mousavi’s campaign color, and also Persian Awakening. ...