'A Struggle to Be' by Khodayar Amini

He came knocking on your door
carrying the broken hopes of a father
the lost smiles of a mother 
and the innocent dreams of a child.

He reached out his hand; you were too hesitant to grab it
you asked him in a distrusting tone
“What is your name and why have you come here” 
He said - “my name is Khodayar and I come from the mountains”

“I bring no harm” - he uttered in a soft voice
yet you were afraid of his innocent presence 
he explained - “ I am a displaced person, 
drifting across unfriendly borders in search of a friend”

When you imprisoned him behind the barbed wires
He said in a nostalgic voice - “I have a great skill;
I used to fly kites back in my homeland, 
making them dance with the freedom of the wind
So just like you, I too have a desire to taste liberty".

When you stamped your authority on his life
crushing his spirits and
rendering a hollow despair in his heart
A thread of ghastly loneliness encircled his throat

Your cold gaze enfeebled his purpose for living,
between the choice of life and death, he chose the latter
just like his kite, his soul burned to ashes in the flames of hate.
And the petals of liberty waver in the wind as you hunt your next victim.