Mahvash Sabet, an Iranian poet and teacher, was imprisoned 10 years ago for ‘conspiracy against the state’. PEN, the organisation which campaigns against the imprisonment of writers, has been organising messages of support for her and her family and been petitioning the Iranian authorities for her release. She has now been released.
The ragged flowers that struggle round the yard
are just the advance guard.
The songs of birds, subliminally heard,
merely a rough sketch, a preliminary draft.
The patches of refracted blue on scratched surfaces
are only manufacturers’ samples.
Cosmic harbingers, those isolated stars.
Our words to you: the outriders
from the rightful world that comes to reclaim you.