Vox Populi

A curated webspace for Poetry, Politics, and Nature. Over 16,000 daily subscribers. Over 7,000 archived posts.

Majid Naficy: Escape to Lesbos

In Ma’arra, the poet Abul ‘Ala
Was called a death-worthy infidel
And a thousand years after his death
His statue was beheaded.

June 7, 2023 · 6 Comments

Majid Naficy: Two Neighbors

The scent of chicken tahchin
Is wafting up to me
Through the window
And I know soon
She will knock at my door…

March 30, 2023 · Leave a comment

Majid Naficy: A Witness for Ezzat

I want to know what happened
On January 7, 1982
Half past one in the afternoon
In Evin Prison

February 1, 2022 · 2 Comments

Majid Naficy: The Cypress of Abarkuh

Once with my father
I sat in its shade.
We were coming from Isfahan
And wanted to go to Ferdows
From the desert.

October 5, 2021 · 2 Comments

Majid Naficy: Kabul

But larks have not forgotten to fly
And grass still sprouts from the earth of Kabul
And rivers are replenished by the snows of Pamirs
And the groves of Samangan are filled with sounds of birds.

September 11, 2021 · 6 Comments

Majid Naficy: A Little Girl’s Rebellion

At seven o’clock in the morning
As I pass by a green house
An automatic sprinkler
Suddenly goes off
And wets me head to toe.

August 12, 2021 · 2 Comments

Kaveh Bassiri: Afterword

In the Quran, God taught Adam the names of all things. Even the angels didn’t know the names. Do we carry the weight of these words with us? Do they hold us responsible?

July 14, 2021 · 1 Comment

Majid Naficy: Khomeini’s Visit

My father never told us
That Khomeini had visited him
For medical treatment many years ago

July 6, 2021 · 13 Comments

Kaveh Bassiri: Writing Persian

During the hostage crisis, when I was Albanian,
my history teacher conceded, “You’ve to be born into English
to be its rightful citizen.” I wanted to be an American poet,
but was a Persian settler.

May 20, 2021 · 6 Comments

Majid Naficy: Censoring Love

Suddenly, I remember Ezzat
Who was shot in Evin Prison
And buried in the Cemetery of the Infidels
In a mass grave without any gravestones.

November 24, 2020 · 2 Comments

Majid Naficy: Corpse of the Revolution

I do not wait for poetry
But go in search of it
Because my wings are broken
And I am left far from my nest…

March 10, 2020 · 1 Comment

Majid Naficy: Visiting the Moon

I was fifteen years old
When I found the moon in the Biabanak sand dunes.

November 12, 2019 · Leave a comment

Majid Naficy: Mosaddegh at The Hague

If you go to the Netherlands
Visit The Hague Court of Justice
On a rainy night

May 16, 2019 · Leave a comment

Majid Naficy: Sweet Accent

I like the sweet accent
Heard on the stairs this morning:
Persian with a hint of American.

April 16, 2019 · Leave a comment

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