Portside

Sketches of Iran

By Esther Kamkar

Mahsa Amini

2000-2022

The headscarf was loosely worn

her hair emanated sexual energy

inflaming passions tempting men

to sin to spill their seed in vain

it was the waves of her hair

the locks of her black hair.

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Hands in Tehran

My dark stained small hands

that peeled fresh walnuts

and saved the white flesh

for marble pyramids

have since whitened

in their longing

for a cherry tree

to climb.

I look back at the roads

cluttered with broken pyramids

dried nails of dahlia petals

and crushed earrings of cherries.

Afraid of becoming robed

in black like a crow

with the fingers and face of a woman,

How can I go home?

Esther Kamkar is an Iranian-American poet. She has published three books of poetry: of such things, Hum of Bees, and Hummingbird Conditions. She lives in Northern California.