Just as many animals writhed in needless pain and misery, just as many children died of starvation, just as many women were raped, just as many people feared the consequences of war and violence, and just as many faced the prospect of disease. Just as many people stayed poor, just as many of the factors leading to climate change increased, and just as much neglect and cruelty paid for the privileges and comforts you enjoy unthinkingly. Just as little effort was expended to address these issues.

Throw away my bones, my flesh and pulp,
As well as my veins, fat and peeled skin;
Take my blood – like the juice of the red tulip,
Like a drop of dew, like tears of a forsaken lover –
Pour me into a royal vat,
And watch over this sealed vat for a year.

(Manučehri, Divān, No. 20, p. 39; tr. Seyed-Gohrab)