A face in shreds

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