Let Me Walk in Peace

Wadia Samadi

These streets are mine as much as they are yours;
Let me walk freely.
Don’t “compliment” my body.

Your whistles and comments are an insult my dignity.
I am pulled into an ocean of fear.
I do not consent. Why do I have to bear?

No matter what I wear, you stare.
Don’t take pride in your hard exterior;
I am in no way inferior.

You try to squeeze by me on a wide open street,
Only to brush up against my skin.
Freezing my heart and my soul from within.

If I speak, I am at fault.
But I have to holler back,
To stop others from joining you on this nasty track.

Step back. My body is not your possession.
Avert your gaze. Don’t follow. Don’t touch.

I am not asking for much.

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Read this piece in Persian here.