I See This Year Differently

I see this year differently. In the year gone by, my eyes lit up with flashes of light and hope. My heart knew grief and pain, but it also laughed its fill and came into bloom. In the year gone by, how many breaths grew tight? How many were cut off forever, so that one day breathing freely might become ordinary? One person was thrown from a height; another said goodbye from high above. One closed their eyes for the last time after a blindfold in torture had become almost a joke to them. For all the grief behind us, we must be fair to ourselves. In the back alleys of loneliness, we found friends. And how many honorable people stood just beyond the four walls of our prison of solitude, tossing pebbles against the wall and waiting. But this year, Nowruz feels different… The scent of victory feels so good this year… Maybe the time has come. Maybe this will be the year our homeland is free, and I will kiss its soil with all my heart… Long live Iran. Long live the Shah.