A Poem for Maryam Mirzakhani
July 20, 2017
Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani died of breast cancer on July 15 at the age of 40. A professor at Stanford University, Mirzakhani became the first woman to win the prestigious Fields Medal—the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in the world of mathematics.
No Hijab in Death
For the late Maryam Mirzakhani
Your country lifts its veil
over you;
it breaks its own glass
ceiling.
In grief.
Now free of all taboos, your face
uncovers
its origins.
The world numbs
seeing your un-scarfed head;
your eyes
lost in a maze of numbers.
Your daughter shall cross
new rivers
under freer skies.
She will learn what you
Always knew:
Beauty is an accident.
You
make your way in the dark
to touch
its keynote.
