I am A Woman

A poem by Sheema Kalbasi with Roger Humes

I am woman

coming from the desert

coming from the long line of tribes

coming from the long line of faiths

They called me mad

They chained me to the wall naked

yet I broke free the bonds

and ran through the pain of my existence

in search of the innocence that was denied me

and they called me mad

and they called me the evil spawn of Satan

yet I broke free the bonds

and ran towards our freedom

where I knelt

before the Mother and the Son

and I called them Salvation

and they named me Nation

and I tore loose the chains of captivity

only to fall once more into bondage

when I was raped by a Mongol

married a Jew

gave birth to a Muslim

watched the child convert to Buddhism

watched the child marry a Bahai

live as a Christian

die as a Hindu

I am a woman

I am the river

I am the sky

I am the clouded covered trees upon the mountain

I am the fertile earth whose song the plants drink deep

I am the long line of tribes

I am the long line of faiths

Don't try to convert me

into something I am not

for I am already all

that humanity will ever be