al-majus

“What cannot be said, will be wept.” – Sappho

If I were a mermaid,

I would weep

large paisley tears

into an ocean of black gold.

If I were a pari of the sea,

I would shed 

black-moon pearls

from the warm 

underbelly of the world.

If I were a mermaid,

I would not comb my hair

with a comb of whale-bone and gold.

No,

my hair would be 

a thick 

black tangle 

of kelp

and a single feather,

plucked from the loneliest of lonely songbirds,

would adorn my temple.

If I were a creature of the deep,

I would rise up from the water

and perch on a stone,

not far from shore,

and look upon the men 

who all came

running to the sea that day

for a parcel

of flour.

If I were a mermaid,

pale and cold

on this night of nights,

I would weep

and weep

for the blood

and the flour

and the hungry child

who did not get her bread tonight.

written by Alaleh Mohajerani

first published on TikTok in March, 2024