Selected Poetry
Tear Catcher’s Alchemy
I want to catch my tears
one by one.
There is one angry drop,
enraged by injustice.
Another in despair,
sad and longing.
Another frozen with fear.
I want to collect a sampling
of these tear personalities.
One by one,
until my tiny,
iridescent glass
tear bottle is full.
On a sunny day,
I will place it on the windowsill.
The prayer lights
will strum the plethora
of its harp, peaceful rays.
Shooting multitudes of colors,
infusing my tears into a mix
of metallic lights.
As the chemistry
of light and time
takes over,
my tears will transform
into a perfume—
rich, flowery, citrusy,
illuminating, uplifting, wise.
I will wear it proudly.
The fingerprints
of my sweat emotions
will further alchemize its fragrance.
Then I will bathe myself in the ocean,
purifying and shedding
the last trace.
All remnants of my pain
becoming unperceivable in its vastness.
Originally published in Soul Forte Journal: Issue 12, August 2025
Link: Issue 12
Isabella’s Dream
The desert, cracked and parched,
anguishing for rain to kiss it.
A connection,
warm reunion:
two souls touching.
Finally, the empathy of rain
flooded a loud thunder of relinquishment.
A thousand years of prayer.
Her land was primed
in enriched receptivity.
The flood of her tears
fed poppy seeds.
They reincarnated
into a red ocean of poppies.
So far and vast,
the eyes cannot grasp its end.
Perennial perpetuity,
eternally reawakening each spring.
The longing’s thirst quenched
by the victory of dreams.
Originally published in Soul Forte Journal: Issue 12, August 2025
Link: Issue 12
Nur
I’m in love. But not
the kind of love you’re thinking of.
I’m a snowflake melting
devoted to the first spring’s sunlight.
A houseplant aching for a window—
thirsting,
wanting.
The sun beams within my vessel
with everything I consume.
Cucumbers, basils, spearmint,
and amaranth leaves.
Borage, marigold, nasturtium,
and anise hyssop flowers.
The moonlight coils me within a silky cocoon
while crickets and frogs tickle me
with the chorus of their jubilation.
God’s light
cycling and recycling—
inhaling and exhaling
facets of nature.
Originally published in Amethyst Review: October 17, 2025
Photosynthesis
The sun’s devotion
infuses an alchemical warmth
creating an angelic metamorphosis
The bodies of leaves
uninhibited
given life to exponentially stretch out
Its intricate veins
full of green blood
absorbing love
emitting charged
euphoric oxygen
Originally published in Closed Eye Open: August 2025 (Maya’s Micros)
Link: Maya’s Micros Ed. 35 – The Closed Eye Open
Folded Light
A quaint square paper—
reconstructed
into the limitless space of imagination.
Materializing
volumes of boxes.
Shaped like
curved ships
jagged stars
elongated vases
symmetrical flowers.
A magician puffs air—
a three-dimensional balloon
swells, stretching into existence.
A folded crane sleeps.
The journey of dreams
imbues it with celestial life.
Come dawn, the crane flies—
its skin’s creases shifting and shimmering
with blue-blossomed patterns.
Originally published in California Quarterly: October 2025 (Print and online)
Link: California State Poetry Society: CQ 2018-2025
Daylight and Moonlight Cats
I have two cats:
an exclusively indoor
white, long haired
luxurious Siberian.
And an exclusively outdoor
Maine Coon, neighborhood cat.
While my Siberian is pampered
taking long daytime naps belly up—
my vigilant Main Coon cat
shadows me everywhere.
Right turn where
the enchanting willow tree’s tentacles sway.
Left turn where the third stop sign stands next to the plush orange Lillie’s.
Above the hill where
the quint stained glass
Victorian church stands.
Semi-feral, I once thought he was heinous
but I found that
he is fiercely loyal.
He protects my crops
scouting squirrels
befriending me over catnip
I grew for him.
Purring and rubbing his body
around my legs.
Slow, graceful movements
like bioluminescent moon jelly fish in water.
Gazing through my consciousness
with piercing, understanding eyes
that change from yellowy amber
to moss green.
Originally published in Loch Raven Review: Volume 21, No. 2, December 2025
Link: Shahrzad Taavoni | The Loch Raven Review
If Happiness is Like Water
I’d like to be:
air bubbles in the ocean
zooming upward to the surface, bursting—
giggling to commune more oxygen.
water persevering, slivering
finding cracks
between doors.
steam perfectly laid
upon a mirror
scribbling
I love you.
and ice atop the Alborz mountains
preserving
my sacred memories.
Originally published in Soul Poetry, Prose & Arts Magazine, Fall issue, November 2025
Link: Online Flipbook