Archive | June 2025

Published?

Jun25

I have been published!

Where you may ask

Let me explain 

I have been published 

Not once, but eight times

Look on Amazon

You will find my books

Publishing is no longer done the traditional way

Yes, that still exists

But now we have many more additional ways

You can be published on Instagram 

You can be published on Facebook

You can be published on WhatsApp 

And the list goes on

Will thousands read my posts?

Maybe not

Will I make money?

Who needs money anyway

Artists are mostly poor in material things

But their heart is connected to a source

Where inspiration comes from

Their words and images are worth so much to those who appreciate them

I have been published

Many times over

My readers are few 

You can’t find my books in a bookstore 

But I’m happy to reach those that I do

Art is there to uplift our souls

And artists are happy to play their role

June 25, 2025

Is this peace?

Jun25


The dust has settled

The missiles have been silenced

People are going back to work

But is there peace?

Peace is not the absence of war

Peace is serenity in people’s hearts

Peace is justice in the land 

Peace is love for your fellow man

I pray for the day when won’t need spies

I pray for the day when negotiations will solve the problems that arise

I pray for the day of equality

When demonstrators won’t have to die in the streets

Peace is not the absence of war

Peace is love in our hearts 

June 25, 2025

News from Iran

Jun24

I draw

I listen to the news about Iran in Persian

I cook

I listen to the news from Iran

These scenes were unimaginable ten years ago

Even five years ago

My contact with my Persian classmates 

Has opened my world to news from them

And news from my land of birth

The news is heart breaking most of the time 

Countries being bombed

People getting injured and dying 

I hope that when the dust has settled

There will be freedom in Iran

There will be equality in Iran

There will be justice in Iran

I draw

I listen to the news about Iran

My heart is with the people of Iran

June 24, 2025

No internet

Jun23

No internet?
No phone calls?
What is this?
1985?
When communication was at a turtle’s pace
When we wrote letters and waited
Waited for many days before we received an answer
And in between
Radio silence
Except for the occasional phone call
But now phones don’t work either
What are we supposed to do to communicate?
We live in the age of instant communication
Our lives are built around it
Deprivation is like tying one’s hands behind one’s back
This is unacceptable and unfair
Only fearful people would do that
Those who fear for their very existence
I hope these days will be over soon
And we’ll be in touch with each other as we used to be

June 20th, 2025

War in Iran

Destruction

Jun23

 

Death and destruction 

Worry and consternation

No news from family

Friends in danger

These are dark days

And as much as I dislike this situation

I remain hopeful

That the sacrifices people are making

Will bear fruit

It’s hard to imagine now

But change happens suddenly

And without much notice

The Berlin Wall falls

The Soviet Union shatters 

All in the blink of an eye

We pray for better days

For peace and prosperity 

For justice and unity

There is a light at the end of the tunnel

No matter how dim

May these days of war 

End as quickly as they started 

June 22nd, 2025

War in Iran 

Why do we lie?

Jun21

Why do we lie?

Why is honesty sometimes so hard?

Maybe we think we can go farther with a lie

Maybe we think we can benefit somehow

Sometimes we even lie about who we are

Pretending and acting is not hard 

Sometimes we lie to protect ourselves 

And avoid being caught

There is a price that we’re bound to pay though

And that price will appear like a stain on our soul

The soul is invisible of course, so we don’t see the stain 

But that stain remains and with every lie

Another stain is added as time goes by

The soul that is stained is not a happy soul

It’s not at peace


It seems our life is going well

But it’s not like that 

There can be regret and guilt 

“Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues”

May we grow and develop and choose honesty over deceit 

May 30th, 2025 

Still at war

Jun7



I see a street in ruins

Buildings made to look like rubbles from bombing

Two firefighters are holding up an injured woman on either side 

Her arm in their arms, helping her walk 

What could justify such a scene?

What causes the leaders of a country 

To attack civilians in a war?

Why do we still have wars anyway?

Why does one country need to conquer another one?

Why should one country be threatened by another one? 

Why should the alliances not be international? 

Why do we still have war? 

June 7th, 2025

Gratitude

Jun1


 

Don’t take anything for granted
When you’re walking, be thankful that your ankles don’t hurt as they used to
Be thankful you live in a safe country
Be thankful that your children are healthy
Be thankful that you have a loving family
Be thankful that your cancer is under control
We take somethings for granted
Only when we lose them we realize what we had
I try to notice what I can be thankful for every day

June 1st, 2025