An Epic Philosophical Manifesto in Free Verse

I. Birth

You open your eyes to this vast world,
A cry tears free from your throat
Spilling onto the threshold of the world
And the world greets you:
“Welcome—
to my cradle.”
Through sound,
you come to know
people, life,
and the gift of being.
You scream and weep
Perhaps for sleep,
Perhaps you need a feed
And so,
your struggle
begins  to live

II. The First Prohibition

Years gather,
Sounds surrender
their place to words
You grow
Sound gives way to words.
Your mouth learns words small enough to hold:
“Mama.”
“Papa”
“Bread”
“Water”
You learn to speak
You also learn
what should never be spoken
You hear benedictions,
Curses. profanities
And whispers
never meant for your ears.
And so arrive—
your first prohibition,
And first penalty.
“Don’t you dare repeat
this to anyone.”
“Or I won’t buy you
that ice cream.”
“No trip to the park.”
” Agreed?”
“Agreed”
Congratulations,
You have just accepted
the first bribe
of your life

III. Learning to Speak

The years keep growing,
Words grow
into sentences.
“I want a tablet”
“Buy me a bicycle”
“I don’t like him,”
“I hate that.”
“Mom says they shouldn’t come”
“Dad says don’t greet them”
“Don’t speak!.”
“Don’t argue!”
“Be quiet!”
Little by little,
you begin to recognize
Your’s
Your father’s
Your mother’ character.
You begin to read
the nature  of people,
So your struggle
grows little by little .
.
IV. Names

The years keep climbing,
Sentences
grow longer
So do your thoughts.
Half of them
are shaped at school,
The other half
in the streets,
At home,
In joy,
In grief.
The number of faces
you know
keeps growing,
And somehow,
you grow older
beyond your years

You are asked
“Who are you?”
“Who’s your father?”
“Your grandfather?”
“And your mother?”
You answer:
“I am Ali.”
“I am Sara.”
“I am Tahir.”
“The son of Qochali.”
“The daughter of Alovsat.”
“Akbar’s grandson.”
“Sara’s child.”
How familiar
those names become…
Qochali,
Akbar,
Sara…
Then they smile—
mockingly,
“Welcome!”
“Come, sit with us.”
“Ah… Qochali’s boy!”
“Alovsat’s daughter!”
“Akbar’s grandson!”
“Sara’s child!”
“Have some tea.”
“You’re one of us.” (Welcome, apple of our eye!)
And so you sense
your first false kindness,
your first false sincerity.
You sense
But you say nothing
An once again, you harden

V. Awakening

You grow,
You become
a pupil,
a student.
The writers you meet,
the books you read,
the stories you carry.
The textbooks you knew by heart
Page by page,
they begin to drift
from the axis
you once believed
the world revolved around.
Now you begin
to recognize
everything,
Everyone,
The world,
Humanity
You taste
the bitterness of hatred,
The poison of betrayal
Of a homeland,
Of a mother,
Of a father,
Of a flag,
Of Bible,
Torah,
Koran,
Of God,
Of humankind itself,
And then…
You are becoming
To disgust
of the very things
and everyone

VI. The Great Struggle

And thus begins
the greatest struggle
of your life!
Against
everything
you were taught
to hold sacred
And untouchable!
Because now…
You have seen
what lies beneath
Holiness!.
Because now…
You have seen
What lies beneath
Those untouchable values!.
The violated purity
Of human dignity!
And so
your struggle
keeps strong
Against every
“Be quiet!”
Against every fear!
It must, my dear!
Listen!.
Can you hear
the breath
of your ancestors?
“Speech is silver.”
“Silence is golden.”
“My son.”
“My daughter.”
What a beautiful word!…
And yet…
Perhaps
Our very first prohibition
was placed upon us
long before we knew
how to speak!
Perhaps
Our very first bribe
was offered
before we could refuse!
Silence!…
worth its weight in gold.
Don’t be silent!
Don’t be silent!
Speak!
Let your words
be worth less
than silver!—
For every silence
you surrender,
someone else
gains gold!
Petty men!
Great men!.
Robe-clad clerics!
Great politicians!
Magnates!
Bureaucrats!
Landlords!
Giant capitalists!.
They exist everywhere!
In Ankara,
In Baku,
In Tel Aviv,
In Tehran,
In Moscow
In  Washington!
They grow rich
feeding on
our silence
Devouring
our minds.
Devouring
our souls…
Don’t- be silent!
Don’t be silent!
So speak!
Don’t fear
You are alive!
Do not fear!
Do not fear!
Step forward!
Because
You are a conscious
Mind!
Don’t abandon your
Struggle!
Because you are a CITIZEN!