Delores Haze

They had to flee
actors
directors
in the crosshairs
between truth
and dystopia
life under dictators
of a religious bend

sacred fig
how your seed does grow

this is why I
listen to the cardinal sing –
chip –
move from
branch to branch –
they know, this pair,
dependent upon each other
that predators with
beaks that grind
and claws that strike
loom everywhere

this is why I
stand my ground
tell the truth

fleeing is not a life
not when places
to flee to
disappear forever.

8/2025

Sources include ‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ by Azar Nafisi and the movie ‘The seed of the sacred fig’.