A poem for The Iranian Women's Studies Foundation (IWSF)

MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE

 Sheema Kalbasi

 I am Iranian

   Hair,

   Eyes,

   Lips,

   Breasts,

   Hands…

   I am Iranian

   Hair,

   Eyes,

   Lips,

   Breasts,

   Hands

   But my life is not

   A MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE

   Because
   I am a woman,
   From the Middle East

   I am not a slave

   I am not a cook

   I am not a cleaner

   I am not just…

   I am Iranian in your Blue Eyes…and therefore

   I am a little black woman

   With a big stomach

   With 7 kids

   With one on the way

   You are wrong

   Neither I nor my mother or her mothers

   Are A MUSEUM OF TOLERANCE

   We fight

   We love

   We live

   We are

   Iranian Woman

   Hair,

   Eyes,

   Lips,

   Breasts,

   Hands…