The Iranian children
Had the work
Of putting back together
The shredded strips of paper
Of the six diplomats
Who worked at the American embassy
Now in hiding
And faceless
In a dark room
In the Canadian ambassador’s residence
Look said one child
I have half a face now
One diplomat dreamed
He had half a face
Look said another child
This face looks like it’s behind bars
Another diplomat
Dreamed of looking through prison bars
One child could not find
All of the strips
That made up his photo
Perhaps they had been burned
In the fire
One diplomat
Dreamed that his face was on fire
One child could not find
Amongst the heaps of shredded paper
Any face at all
Look said the soldier
This face is missing
From the dream file
One diplomat
Who didn’t have any dreams
At least felt confident
One child
Was horrified to see
A faceless hanged man
Swinging from a crane
And went home in tears
That was my face
Said the child
In one diplomat’s dream
Finally
A child had a complete picture
Of a diplomat
Who woke up in the night
And staring into the mirror
Saw his face in shreds
So powerful, so poignant.
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thank you Chris 😊
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