I look at a picture of a dictator smiling
among a group of nine-year-old girls
in a formal celebration of their puberty,
reminding them to cover up their bodies,
and though they don’t know algebra
or abstract reasoning, they must
understand that acting against his laws
will take them to prison.
I think of the teenage girl
who vlogged her thoughts
on the revolution, released
from prison so her jailers, knowing
she would die from injuries,
could claim she killed herself
when her breath gave itself up
a few hours later.… Read the rest