Hand Painting: The House is Bloody Now (1)
This painting consists of three pieces/panels, each depicting a part of a story that narrates the courage of young people who, in the darkness of oppression, seek the light.
The beautiful poem by the Iranian poet Simin Behbahani
that completes these pieces:
The house was cloudy once, now the house is bloody.
It was so, it has become thus
such is our state now.
A corpse-like figure, with a cloak upon its shoulders, a bloodsucker roaming the night,
Thirsty for blood, with two fangs like twin spears
it stands now.
The old leopard drags the young gazelle down in blood;
The terror of the jungle's law, the accusation of religion
it is now.
I admire the cypress of the garden of love, that in a rain of lead
Like an arghavan tree stands blood-drenched in blossoms now.
The soil shines like the sky with its radiant ones;
Upon the broken earth, a cypress of crystal now stands.
No! The oppressor's deeds shall scatter like ashes,
The harvest of hatred's matchstick is the flame of vengeance
it is now.
The house was cloudy once; though it has become bloody, still
Behind the darkness, and following the blood, a silver dawn now stands.
"The House is Bloody Now") is one of Simin Behbahani's powerful works of protest and hope, written during a dark period in Iran's history. The final line plays beautifully on her first name "Simin" (meaning "silver"), turning "silver dawn" into a personal signature of optimism amid suffering.
Physical art Dimensions: 50 * 70 cm Winter 2026
