From Where Have These Flies Come?¹

From where have these flies come

that sit upon on the dead meat
and have taken my father out
of his grave and for my mother sangsaar²
before she was hung in Maidane E’dam³?

Who are these flies,
what are these flies,
which have painted my eyelashes with dirt
and have put this cut heart of mine on top
of their arrows and have burned my hair
with the fire of shame?

Who are these flies,
what are these flies,
which question my moral judgment
and place my head on the guillotine of guilt?

Who are they that take out
my eyelashes one by one
to parade on the field of their self-righteousness?!

From where have these flies come?

And to where must I go to be rid
of the disease and filth that they carry in their hearts?

¹ Version based on Kalbasi’s Farsi poem In Magas-ha Az Koja Amadehand?
² Ritual stoning
³ A square in Tehran once used for public executions