Elegy for Minab

از کران تا به کران، لشکر ظُلم است ولی از اَزَل تا به اَبَد، فرصتِ درویشان است

From horizon to horizon the armies of oppression are arrayed

But from before time to after is the dervishes’ day

-Hāfiẓ

Lightning flashed, hailed fire, not rain,

where jonquils and tulips once swayed,

Where the doe-eyed Jebeer would play,

where I wish that I were the rain.

Down from the hills of old Sistan,

down to sea of old Makran,

Runs a river with young lives stained,

and I wish that I were the rain.

Far from the mad, clamoring mobs

flows the tear-swelled river, Minab

Smoke and soft cries rise with dawn’s pain,

and I wish that I were the rain.

In Esther’s land, east of Shiraz,

South of lands that hold the Imams,

Esra, Zahra, Benyamin are slain—¹

Ruthless Haman’s back at it again.

Small saplings felled without a cause

there they’re abused, here, wrapped in gauze

By a reckless, furious campaign,

and I wish that I were the rain.

Bleeding the earth’s blood black to pay

dealers of death without delay.

Is the whole world going Gaza’s way?

And I wish that I were the rain.

Bombs fall like hail, missiles like rain

Flames proclaiming climbing Hell’s reign,

Shattering Isfahan’s crystal panes,²

and I wish that I were the rain.

Rabid locusts harvest tears’ stains,

tap twice on Death’s door like a game

Even the fog knows who’s to blame,

and I wish that I were the rain.

Dead-hearted bodies without souls

split souls from their tiny bodies.

And as their school goes up in flames,

I just wish that I were the rain.

How much murder can earth contain?

Even glaciers weep blood in shame

How can this clay hold yet more pain?

And I just wish I were the rain.

The whole cosmos flipped upside down:

ill-starred jinn pelt angels with flame,

Burying their small frames in small graves,

and I wish that I were the rain.

Stars inter small moons in earth’s plains

Sun, in mourning, has shaved his mane;

Snow-haired mountains quiver in rage,

and I wish that I were the rain.

Metal birds, bellies filled with death

blow martyred souls into green jays,

Flying above these burning chains,

and I wish that I were the rain.

Is this chaos our only aim?

How many souls daily we claim?

Who could treat life with such disdain?

And I just wish I were the rain.

Tomahawks drop from Claude’s hawks’ claws,⁵

Named for weapons of those they’ve slain

They’re mowing down flowers again,

and I wish that I were the rain.

Backs have been bent by sorrows’ strains,

hearts are broken, faces are drained.

Somehow love still flows in our veins,

and I just wish I were the rain.

In this mad world, madness is sane;

Insanity’s the only good name.

Only fools are free from disgrace,

and I just wish I were the rain.

Seven oceans poured from my eyes,

How many more dried on grief’s salt plains?

So many died—no more tears remain,

so I wish that I were the rain.

Once again, we’ve betrayed Hussain—

guiltless dead counted more than all grains;

Sow the wind and reap hurricanes,

and I wish that I were the rain.

Time gives and takes, but this stays the same:

lines drawn on maps, false prophecies made,

Old men’s sins, all with young blood are paid,

and I just wish I were the rain.

How many more young bodies maimed?

How many shrouds, how many names?

Don’t ask me now, I can’t explain,

I just wish that I were the rain.

O Lord, let mercy’s gentle rain

water lands that hold love’s remains.

Wipe away tears, our weakness, I pray,

and I wish that I were the rain.

Yā Rabbanā Yā Rabbanā

Waghfir lanā wa‘fu ‘annā

Wanṣurnā bimajma‘il-baḥrain,

and I wish that I were the rain.

If I never make it to you,

if I never reach your high plains,

May these breaths, my tears reach your face,

as if I really were the rain.

-Oludamini

Ramadan 24, 1447

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1.  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/names-and-ages-children-iranian-school-strike ↩︎
2.  https://www.dw.com/en/us-israeli-strikes-damage-irans-cultural-heritage-sites/a-76350565 ↩︎
3.  https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-iranian-girls-killed-double-tap-strikes-minab-school ↩︎
4.  https://www.discoverwildlife.com/environment/blood-falls-antarctica ↩︎
5.  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/01/claude-anthropic-iran-strikes-us-military
   
   https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/us/politics/iran-school-missile-strike.html
   ↩︎
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._military_equipment_named_for_Native_Americana ↩︎

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Feature image: Abbas Zakeri [[File:Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab photos from Mehr (4).jpg|Shajareh_Tayyebeh_school_in_Minab_photos_from_Mehr_(4)]]

Bottom images: Morteza Akhondi [[File:Funeral of the martyrs of Minab Primary School for Girls 20.jpg|Funeral_of_the_martyrs_of_Minab_Primary_School_for_Girls_20]] and Abbas Zakeri [[File:Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab photos from Mehr (9).jpg|Shajareh_Tayyebeh_school_in_Minab_photos_from_Mehr_(9)]]