They want us to be afraid | A poem by Kamand Kojouri, 2017

Snakes and Ladders, board game
They want us to be afraid.
They want us to be afraid of leaving our homes,
to barricade our doors and hide our children.
They aim to make us fear life!
They want us to hate.
They want us to hate the other,
to practice aggression and promote oppression.
They aim to divide us all!
They want us to be inhuman.
They want us to throw out our kindness,
to conceal our love and bury our hope.
They aim to take our light!
They think their brick walls
will separate us.
They think their damned bombs
will defeat us.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that my soul and your soul are old friends.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that when they cut you, I bleed.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that we will never be afraid,
we will never hate,
and we will never be silent.
For life is only ours!
Kamand Kojouri, 2017