Me and Myself

I stood before the mirror and looked at myself. “You’ve grown so old,” I said. “You’ve changed so much this past year.” “Yes, I’ve changed a lot,” he said. “What have you done to yourself? Why have you gone so far ahead of me? Why do you look so worn, so old?” “Because I thought ahead of you. Because nothing in this time has been ordinary. It has all been heavy.” “So I did this to you?” “You’ve been in such turmoil all this time that I couldn’t sit still. I couldn’t stay beside you. I had to go ahead.” “Why?” “So you wouldn’t end up like this and grow old before your time. I wanted to make sure you saw the day you’ve been waiting for while there was still time. I may be very, very old and frail by then, but at least you’ll be able to live in peace, beauty, and freedom.” “If I made you old, can I make you young again? Or is it too late?” “If one day you can be yourself and be happy, I can go back to childhood… to innocence… to honesty… to a mind at rest… to seeing and smelling the world. “To life… to life… to youth… to running and laughing. “To being fearless.” May the day come when we can be children again in our free Iran, when we can be ourselves and live. That will be the day we look in the mirror and say, “Well done. It’s over. You can rest now. Don’t be afraid anymore. Live.” Long live Iran. Long live the Shah.