!I Envy You, South Africa

Majid Naficy 

I envy you, South Africa!
Your child became a father
-Brave, wise and kind-
Whose first message,
After he came among the people
From behind prison bars,
Was “I am not a prophet
And everybody is the master
Of her or his destiny.”

Alas!
A man with a turban
Became my master
Who called himself the deputy of God
And sent thousands of Iran’s children
To firing squads.

Today
You bury Madiba
In his birthplace
And I say farewell to him
In exile.

        December 5, 2013

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