by Noushin Arefadib

My Conviction

I am loved and adored.
The right choice.
Because I smile and satisfy.
I please you.
I am gentle and soft spoken.
A family girl.
Assimilated.
But this gentle girl has a history.
A past.
Embedded roots that will not release their hold.
I am colored shades of revolutionary blood red,
melancholy blue,
and burning with the yellow flames of resistance.
I am the other to which you refer.
A refugee.
A woman.
Supporter and loyal friend to all lovers of love.
Gay, bi, straight, purple and all other beautiful shades in between.
I believe in outspoken revolutionary women;
in talking back;
in screaming loud and with conviction.
I believe that holding my silence is a deadly crime.
I believe in the people who flee from assassination,
who sell all worldly possessions to climb into boats that fall apart.
I believe in their hope,
their courage,
their children.
I believe in humanity,
not only for those who share my skin tone and language,
but those whom you fear the most.
Not your perfect choice anymore?
That’s ok.
Turn your back and seek elsewhere.
This is the home of a believer of revolutions;
of a woman who screams;
of a woman who stand uninterrupted.
Here is the door to my heart,
let me show you the way out.