Azän on a Toronto Streetcar

Bänoo Zan

Azän[1] on a Toronto Streetcar

Bänoo Zan

My heart hears it

before I do

I start to vozoo[2]

in tears

praying

to stop praying—

the ritual

branch

of the tree of speech

roots

falling like leaves

Years back

in the land of Azäns

my disbelieving body

shook at the gropings

of the lecherous call to

piety

In the land of now

this call to freedom

by a slave[3]

frees me

from separations

shackling questions

released by love

shaking roots

to the falling

fruit—

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[1] The Muslim call to prayer, sung from mosque minarets

[2] Muslim ritual ablution before prayer

[3] Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi, an emancipated slave and the companion to prophet Mohammad, the first muezzin in Islam

Bänoo Zan landed in Canada in 2010. In her country of origin, Iran, she used to teach English Literature at universities.  She has published more than 80 poems, translations, biographies, and articles. Her poetry has appeared in magazines and anthologies in Iran, Canada, U.K., U. S., Israel, etc.  She hosts Queen Gallery Poetry Night in Toronto and is a member of TOPS (The Ontario Poetry Society) Executive.  She believes that her politics is her poetry.