Back in the days,
the Iranians mixed with Arabs,
and from the deserts rose
the Iranian Arabs.
They mixed with Africans,
and on the southern shores
were born the Bandari Zanji Iranians,
salt-skinned, wave-born.
They mixed with Jews,
threads of exile and promise
woven into Persian looms.
Maybe even with Indo-Aryans,
their roads crossing in the shadow
of mountains and fire.
But now—
the wheel has turned.
It is the Kurds
who mix with Europeans,
with Jews, with Africans,
carrying the burden of crossings,
yet still standing apart.
A people both river and rock,
carved by every tide,
but refusing to be erased.