Melancholic songs of loss and unattainable love, lost to the sweep of history. ------------------------------- The distinct lyricism of Marzieh's poetry emanates from her subconscious, wherein she observes an ocean of dreams straddling reality and surreality. In her poetry, existence takes on a melancholic nature that redefines a remembered reality-personal and social, past and present- characterized by its sorrows and upheavals. Although nurtured by the heritage of dreamlike qualities and subtle, sublime themes found in Persian poetry, Marzieh's words are enriched by elements of the Western cultural and literary tradition. Rather than romantically repackaging her observations on the human condition, Marzieh appeals to love, broken dreams, and physical displacement in a complex and abstract style curiously her own. At times, her poetry despondently reflects on the sweep of history and the accompanying death, destruction, exile, and otherness that leave the individual doubtful and empty. While ostensibly a series of sad but animated manifestos against the powers that be, her musings on Iranian social upheaval and its victims-whether women or citizens deemed ideologically "unfit"-are penetrating searches for answers to the human condition. In Marzieh's poetry, the reader enjoys an ethereal melody, one that leaves mystical whispers and traces when finished.