Dedicated to the memories of Mahsa Amini and a brave human being known to the world only as “Tank Man”

By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2023

First published in Academy of the Heart and Mind (February 20, 2023)

One man before a tank —
defiant, pivoting —
defending peaceful speech
in footage riveting.

One woman dared to wear
a headscarf showing hair…
skull fractured by police,
spurring protests to flair.

The man’s fate is unknown,
but even dreamers dread,
the torture that he faced,
presuming he is dead.

The woman lost her life
to thugs of a regime,
that repress liberty,
so their law reigns supreme.

The courage that they showed
outlived their fragile lives,
inspiring us to sow
great changes that survive.