Zahra Seif-Amirhosseini Rafie
Zahra Seif-Amirhosseini Rafie is a Professor of Sociology at NOVA Community College. Zahra is a Social Scientist, holding a PhD in Sociology and International Relations from London School of Economic and Political Science, London, England. She obtained her Master's degree from University of Cambridge in History and Philosophy, and her BA (Hons.) from University of London, Goldsmiths College in Sociology and Philosophy. She has taught at many prestigious universities both in England such as the London School of Economics and Political Science and in America such as Georgetown University. She’s also a freelance consultant and researcher. Her latest research is on Confronting Prejudice Against Muslim Women in Higher Education, an upcoming publication with McMillan Press. Her area of specialty is social theory, development, gender and minority rights. She has been involved with social activism in the fields of gender equality, minority rights and youth initiative and leadership programs since 1990. She has worked with many international organizations such as Amnesty International and UNICEF and continues her passion for social justice through NGO and community based work.
My essence is You
My essence Is
It is, has been and will always Be
The source of Love
The source of Light
The source of Peace
There is nothing but You
Light upon Light
Love upon Love
Peace upon Peace
The journey began with light
Life before Birth
Life before Death
Life ever Eternal
From the source unto to source
Ever giving
Ever flowing
Ever changing
The essence has no story
No beginning
No end
A sea of perpetual waves
Shoreless, timeless, ceaseless
Forever flowing, forever giving
My lamp was crystal clear
Light upon light shining ever so bright, brilliant, vivid dazzling
Family gathered around to celebrate the gift of life
The feminine manifestation of the essence
Each step on the dusty road of the intersection of biography and history shedding a new layer of dust
Temporal chaos
Mundane mess
Hurt, wounds, arrows
Tears, fears, hate
Jealousy, inadequacy, indignation
Envy, want, want, want
Never satisfied
Never filled
Void, abyss, darkness
Obscurity, numbness, despair
NEVER ENOUGH
Spinning a web of lies
Dimming the Light
Darkening the heart
Deceiving the soul
Drubbing the body
The essence like a faint memory, forever fading light
Flickering, diminishing, vanishing
An abyss
Darkness all around
Self-loathing
Wanting to fit in
I don’t belong
I have never belonged
In this world of trickery, illusion and lies
Rocks painted as gold
Crumbling souls with painted faces and fake smiles
Searching for home
Searching for belonging
Searching for love
In the dark night of the soul
Falling down the whirlwind of despair
A shadow of the self
A faint memory of the essence
A fleeting taste of love
“Know your worth” my father would say
“What worth” I would sneer
“The gates are always open”, he would say
Yes! the gates have always been open
But “you must die before you can live”, he would say
Get the cloth
Polish the lamp
Keep wiping, keep going, I know it’s hard in the dark
I know it’s hard with a broken heart
Wait…….
I hear the waves
I feel the gentle breeze
Wait….
I see the shoreless sea, beyond the gates
So Majestic
So Real
So Welcoming
Wait…..
“I can’t swim”
“I will drown”
“I will die”
“I’m scared”
To honor my truth, to honor my father’s words I must dive in, I must trust
How can I trust when all I have ever known is betrayal?
All our stories will die
Stories of hurt anguish and despair
In their death we learn to swim, well, no! Wait! Actually, we learn to drown!
Jump in the sea
No fears, no guilt, no shame, no remorse, no anger, no hate
Drowning
It feels good
All my fears are washed away
Isn’t this what a baptism is?
I am now one with the sea
Wait….
I am the sea
Beyond the gates
Shoreless
Flowing,
Gleaming,
Ever Eternal