This Freedom

Elaheh Farmand

• I came to America 21 years ago 
• with rose-colored glasses,
• a suitcase of memories,
• and my mother’s dreams 
• unfolded.

• I came to America
• with little English
• and a lot of bitterness because
• our struggle as new immigrants
• embarrassed me.

• But I came with hope
• and from my mother,
• I learned that I was lucky,
• privileged,
• fortunate
• to be living
• the American Dream.

• I am grateful, but…
• this freedom is not as pure as I imagined
• destroying Mother Earth and building walls
• stopping dreamers from dreaming a better life
• demanding documents as proof of our humanity
• forcing us to put up signs on our windows: “Hate has no home here.” 

• This freedom has been making me very angry lately
• with its absurd necessity for a right to bear arms
• because it hasn’t learned from history, because of
• deep-seated ignorance and fear and hate.

• There are people dying around me
• and I am helpless, 
• drowning in His moronic madness.

• This freedom questions my womanhood again, 
• forcing me to march on Washington again,
• to raise my fist in the air again 
• because yes sir, I’m a nasty woman!

• I come from Iran, 
• where dreaming is forbidden, and execution arbitrary
• where a ticket to America is a ticket to heaven
• my parents brought me here so that I could be free
• so that I could dream and be who I want to be 
• a proud woman, uncensored and unabashed

• And yet here I am again,
• my voice shaking with anger
• “My body, my choice!” 
• this poem is continuing to get longer
• this freedom is reminding me of the very place I left

• This freedom is breaking my heart.

Elaheh is an Iranian immigrant and writer who dreams of and fights for a society that places people’s needs and wellbeing before profits. She is occasionally nostalgic for her childhood in Iran, but focuses her energy on connecting with her community, family, and friends.

Also see Elaheh’s essay Fight the System, Not Each Other .

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• SLV 2023 Table of Contents
• Voices of the Valley – Alphabetic List of Authors
• Sustainable Lehigh Valley booklet

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