Heavy handed with fists full of bricks 

They smash us down

Praying our hope stays buried 

With our bloody bodies. 

But, 

Our souls, they are immortal. 

We rise from the ashes 

Cloacked in flames

Armed with courage

Rooted in reverence

Fiercely reclaiming 

what is ours: 

Liberation

Autonomy

Freedom.

Shireen Ghanatabadi is an Iranian American trauma therapist living in Minneapolis, MN. Writing has always been a passion of theirs and has helped them move through the emotions brought up especially since the uprising in Iran.