Carpet

Red carpet under the feet of the executioner
Red carpet
The same color as blood
Flowing, of the
Innocent children

By: Ziaeddin Torabi

Ziaeddin Torabi is an Iranian American poet living in Sacramento. He holds a B.A. in English & Literature and an M.A. in Linguistics from Iranian universities. Torabi has published more than 30 books of poetry, criticism, reviews, and translations in Iran. From 1988 to 1998, he served as the head of various literary centers within the Tehran Municipality. From 1999 to 2009, he taught Persian literature at the University of Applied Sciences and Technology in Tehran.

He has won many literary awards, including the 2010 Iran Annual Book Prize for his poetry collection
Face to Face with Dream. The book was translated into English by Parisa Samady and published by Ad Lumen Press in Sacramento in 2015. Face to Face with Dream was also a finalist for the 35th Annual Northern California Book Award. His most recent book, Birds of Imagination and Other Poems, was published by Amazon in 2020.

His poems have appeared in American River Review, Clade Song, Tipton Poetry Journal, Grey Sparrow Journal, Scarlet Leaf Review, Dash Literary Journal, Inkwell Literary Journal, Sutterville Review, In Parentheses Magazine, Poetry Festival, Tule Review, and the forthcoming Poet’s Espresso Review.