Graffiti

and

A Poem by Sina Behmanesh, Translated by Bänoo Zan

They wrote on the walls:
Death to smiles

I was a mouth
I died

They wrote on the walls:
Death to kisses

I was a mouth
I died

They wrote on the walls:
Death to poetry
Death to words

I was a poet
I was a mouth
I became a scream

To turn all walls to mouths
I write my poems
brick by brick
on the wall

Authors of the article

Bänoo Zan is a poet and curator with over 300 published pieces and three books. She is the founder of Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night) and co-editor of Woman, Life, Freedom: Poems for the Iranian Revolution. Bänoo is the recipient of the 2025 Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award.

Sina Behmanesh is an Iranian poet and writer residing in Canada. In Iran he was the head of Ghazal Society, host of Majal Think Tank, and judge of independent poetry contests. In Toronto, he and others launched Majal weekly poetry and fiction gatherings. He is the author of six books.