Of All I'Ve Lost

Of all the things that I have lost Perhaps what hurts the most Is that I can no longer go to where I once called home... I cannot roam with childish glee Down through the leafy grove Nor play with snowballs, dance is snow Then thaw beside the stove I cannot use pink muhlberries To paint my childish lips I cannot eat the greens I've picked Right down to soily tip I cannot brown my little legs Beneath the blazing sun Or slpash in cold and icy pool Until the day is done I cannot play my hide and seek With gateman's little kids Nor drink the flavored Persian tea Chase dreams through drooping lids I cannot rub the walnut skins And stain my fingers black I cannot gorge on cherries sweet I can't bring one day back I cannot pick the blubell flowers Or swing from walnut tree I cannot gorge on luscious fruit Those mountains, I can't see I cannot run through fresh green grass Nor bask on asphlat walk I cannot run through classroom halls Or tire from childish talk I cannot show off gardened home To foreigners and say, "This place is really paradise That none can steal away"... I had a dream last night that I was back in my childhood home in Tehran, Iran. We lived in a walled, gated compoud that was the property of our church. My father was a school principal and the administration building and dorms were on our campus. We were situated in Shemran, at the foot of the ELBRUS mountain range. The compund was green.....beautiful. We'd swim in the icy cold pool then lie on asphalted walks to warm up. We had a cherry orchard, walnut, apple, apricot, plum, muhlberry, and almond trees. It would snow in winter, and My brothers would jump off the roof of our house into the snow. I can't describe the ache in my heart at not being able to go back. It was an enchanting childhood and no one can steal my memories. After the revolution in 1979, the government took over the property....but they can't take My dreams. I've shared this....painstakingly written on my phone because my dream was so vivid. I needed to share...