Mary Tavakoli

Edge of Freedom (Black Lives Matter)   
  
 Will you meet with me at the edge of freedom? 
 Walk with me to the place where the sunrise meets the horizon? 
 Stand together?
 Watch the barriers dissolve?
 Fast forward to a bright future?
 Or will we look at one another, 
 Through the crystal clear glasses?
 Frozen perceptions?
 And frozen spaces?
 In a new frozen dimension?
 Behind the frozen doors of past segregations?
  
Stop!
Freeze the time.
Free me from this separation. 
From frozen crystal glasses.
Time!
Spaces!
All the frozen dimensions!
Where I exist in isolation.
Inexorable paralyzing hatred and suffocation. 
Emotional atrophy of new calibrations.
  
Where I can barely dream.
Where I can barely dream, of walking at the edge of freedom. 
Where I can almost see the sunrise at horizon in a far, far distance,
But cannot envision the morning. 
Where my best shot at freedom is in the white spaces in between the
         written lines of our constitution. 
Which fails over and over, again and again,
To express and define me and my human rights. 
  
Maybe? Just maybe?
Before reading me my rights,
I should be recognized as a human. 
And as a human, "I" should have the right to express “my rights”.
  
Let me remind you of my existence, 
In the paralyzed world of unlawful conversations; 
In my frozen book of poems;
In the frozen layers of inequality;
Behind the frozen doors of segregations; 
In your emotional atrophy;
In the judgments;
In the hatreds; 
In your weaknesses; 
...In between the broad stripes and bright stars of my flag,
I STILL EXIST...
  
I still exist,
In between the minuscule measures of justice, 
Breathing through a small vent fighting the vacuum of my suffocation.
And I exist in between short breaths of freedom and exhalations. 
...And only one day at a time.
  
...And I still exist in your thoughts.
I still exist on both sides of shattered frozen glasses.  
In the same way I exist,
In the white spaces in between the written lines of my constitutional 
     rights.
  
...And the minuscule measures of existence, 
It’s still existence.
  
...You'd see me,
Despite it all,
I still shine! 
Brighten up the path, 
Where we can meet and hold each other's hands! 
  
…Overwhelming nostalgia! 
Reminisce of Dr. King,
Over half a century has elapsed,
Still tirelessly fighting for the dream.
"Keep hope alive",
For the day our fights gracefully paralyze the suffocation of this
     new century. 
Allow twenty-first century dissolve our barriers. 
Give rise to paralysis of inexorable stigmatized inhumane values.
And we stand at the edge of freedom where we can walk towards the 
     horizon of sunrise.
  
  
  
 
 Copyright 2021 by Mary Tavakoli
   

Author’s Statement:

I was inspired by the word horizon in the article I was reading. I chose a handful of words from that article and two of my poems. As we continue to observe the social injustice and inequality in our society, I reflected on some of my own experiences where I was facing unfair circumstance. Being an empath really allows me to deeply experience other people’s pain. I think as an artist it’s important to allow myself to experience and be guided by other people’s joy and sufferings. Of course, it takes courage to cross those layers and barriers of pain. But if we dare to cross the veil of our fears we can step into pain and watch it dissolve and allow compassion unfold. Compassion is a beautiful place.  It is the home of love. Once we arrive at compassion, everyone knows we’ve visited because our footsteps will forever leave their marks. 

Once I am in that sacred place, I just let the words express how it feels to be there for those who are suffering. I hope we all can allow ourselves to cross the layers of veils of pain, compassion, and meet in a space of love and cross the edge of freedom. Maybe then we can truly take notice of cruelty, and the suffering we cause and develop compassion so we can embrace one another.

Articles used:
Rachel Stanworth, Ph.D. When Spiritual Horizons Beckon: Recognizing Ultimate Meaning at the End of Life. August 1, 2006, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2190/5BUU-BUJ6-8LT1-46NC

Poem used:
“Freedom and Love” by Dr. Mary Tavakoli

Bio:

Dr. Mary Tavakoli is an Iranian-American poet, writer, and artist who live in East Coast in United States. Her profound passion for poetry and philosophy began by reading and reciting ancient Iranian poetries of Rumi, Hafez, Saadi, and others. Growing up amid revolution and war, she became curious and delved in understanding the meaning of life, death, human rights, and justice.

30 for 30 is sponsored by Potomac Review