A reader introduced me to poet Dr. Kamand Kojouri, who is an Assistant Professor of English at the American University in Dubai and a Fellow of the Emirates Literature Foundation. 

Kamand’s work covers multiple genres and has been featured in major international outlets like the BBC, El País, and The Irish Times. Zachary J. Moore adapted one of her poems into a classical piece called “Let My Silence Grow,” which has been performed worldwide. 

She has published two poetry collections, The Eternal Dance: Love Poetry and Prose, followed by God, Does Humanity Exist?

Here is one of her poems -

“They want us to be afraid. 
 They want us to be afraid of leaving our homes. 
 They want us to barricade our doors 
 and hide our children. 
 Their aim is to make us fear life itself! 
 They want us to hate. 
 They want us to hate 'the other'. 
 They want us to practice aggression 
 and perfect antagonism. 

 Their aim is to divide us all! 
 They want us to be inhuman. 
 They want us to throw out our kindness. 
 They want us to bury our love 
 and burn our hope. 

 Their aim is to take all our light! 
 They think their bricked walls 
 will separate us. 
 They think their damned bombs 
 will defeat us. 
 They are so ignorant they don’t understand 
 that my soul and your soul are old friends. 

 They are so ignorant they don’t understand 
 that when they cut you I bleed. 
 They are so ignorant they don’t understand 
 that we will never be afraid, 
 we will never hate 
 and we will never be silent 
 for life is ours!”