"All the Colors of the Dawn", Poem by Payman Akhlaghi

An original love poem, "All the Colors of the Dawn" (2010), was just published on Scribd. You may read more of my poetry on the same site, brought together in the following Collection: PA Original Poems in English or Persian. A link to this collection could also be found on the right column of this page.

Here's an excerpt:

Afresh, arrived
            The new year,
                  With a knowing gaze,
                           With a crescent smile,
                  With a kind wink,
                           With a caring voice,
            Carrying
                  A sweet basket of melodies
                           Adorned with cheese
                                 And my favorite bottle of wine...
...and I've already
          Begun to feel
                  Speechless,
                          Discovered,
                                Like a man, caught
                                       In a transparent armor!
[...]
Please read this poem and others in full at http://Scribd.com/PAComposer. Thank you.

America's Leadership Once More Ascertained

‎"Love, Not Dove" -- Thus read the T-Shirts worn today in Gainesville, Florida, as NY Times reported.

The many people wearing those T-shirts were trying to distinguish themselves from a certain priest in their town, a pastor, whose recent threat to an act of vandalism reminded me of the Middle Ages. They didn't do this because they believed in Islam: They did this because they wished to withhold that long revered American principle -- that anyone should be free to hold his or her beliefs in private. They wished the world to know that they are better than him.

An exercise in free speech, and a lesson in tolerance, that makes you certain America is bound to lead for decades to come.

What better way could be to celebrate the best of America, and to commemorate the victims of 9/11?