the year treats us
like a day
long and short at the same time
Monday, December 31, 2018
friends or lovers
A friendship, however hard it tries,
Will always be romantic.
Down, down, down into the darkness of the friendship,
Gently it goes
Snowy trees remind me of sparkles
On her nails, the sparkles
glisten like a tree
left in the snow all night
glisten like a tree
left in the snow all night
Falfafel of those who left
The falafel of those who left
is richer with their loss
than it is with olive oil
is richer with their loss
than it is with olive oil
Sunday, December 30, 2018
I cannot let go
I cannot let go, you tell me
pointing at the photographs
behind where you spend your time
head first in the notes,
I cannot let go, you tell me
of the ghost that was her,
my mother who died in an accident
twenty years ago
pointing at the photographs
behind where you spend your time
head first in the notes,
I cannot let go, you tell me
of the ghost that was her,
my mother who died in an accident
twenty years ago
over the sting
My scorpion, you inspire me to write
in secret about the times I have held your hand
without the sting over my skin
in secret about the times I have held your hand
without the sting over my skin
rocks, bellies
Originality is keeping space
between the pebbles
knowing that dirt can creep under the belly
between the pebbles
knowing that dirt can creep under the belly
girls on the side of the road
To the girls left on the side road
that I cannot help
I cannot even pretend
to know how you feel
Appreciation
Saying words of grace
takes time
to arrive first to the heart
the black hole of all things
takes time
to arrive first to the heart
the black hole of all things
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Smells like Christmas
It smells like Christmas in my kitchen,
smells like the time I stopped
in the heart of the house
right in the middle like a clot
not moving nor let anyone move
to make Christmas over cold stoves
here is a list of things you need for cake
that serves 6, realistically
even if you are on your own:
* peeled apples
* 3/4 sugar
* flour
* cinnamon
* nutmeg
* salt (to taste)
I stand on a flat corner
kneading the flour
needing a listening ear
I stand in the corner
in my house,
shaking like a belly dancer after a long show
cupping powdered sugar to an empty heart
smells like the time I stopped
in the heart of the house
right in the middle like a clot
not moving nor let anyone move
to make Christmas over cold stoves
here is a list of things you need for cake
that serves 6, realistically
even if you are on your own:
* peeled apples
* 3/4 sugar
* flour
* cinnamon
* nutmeg
* salt (to taste)
I stand on a flat corner
kneading the flour
needing a listening ear
I stand in the corner
in my house,
shaking like a belly dancer after a long show
cupping powdered sugar to an empty heart
Pumpkins carvings
Tastes like a potato
this pumpkin
carved with a strong arm
an iron fist
that knows how to manage
a kitchen and three children
this pumpkin
carved with a strong arm
an iron fist
that knows how to manage
a kitchen and three children
Leaf poem
up
if the
lean
round
all round
a cauldron the
so all round round
lean do rather round all soft
all round very terrible we all soft
all round ! rather green rather small
ever so soft ever so lean decidedly lean
all strange thin fore moving, lovingly
its littler veins tapered, wordlessly
ever so weedy theme drifting, lovingly
ever so haggard bow drifting, lovingly
its skinny fore moving, lovingly
twiggy stem vagabond, lovingly
do wiry base moving, lovingly !
do ever so gangly base floating, lovingly
ever so slender-waisted stalk floating, lovingly
ever so spindle-legged radical moving, lovingly
its narrow-minded veins constricting, wordlessly
ever so slim-waisted radical drifting, lovingly
ever so slim-waisted bow floating, lovingly
dire, light, common dire, light, weird
extremely green ! a cauldron
lean a veins ! all soft
green! ! a veins
lean ! lean
so !
!
rain or shine
Why would you think the sunshine is small?
Does the sunshine make you shiver?
does it?
These passing winds are ice-cold.
winds are you,
do they make you shiver still?
This is us,
Shivering come rain or shine
Longing for you in midwinter
Foxgloves in hedges,
Surround the farms,
This is the charm of winter:
People fall in love
And I long for your arms.
Calamity
There is calm in calamity
the way there's a pip in an olive
lodged right in the middle,
felt at only when bitten into.
the way there's a pip in an olive
lodged right in the middle,
felt at only when bitten into.
He is born
Rest assured, for He has been born
the one who created heaven and earth
the one who saves heaven from this earth.
No appetite
there is no will
you tell me after I nudge you
to eat, to drink
even to live
this is a deep hole that you've sunk in
there is no one to claim
parentage reasons
you hear of wired words hanging:
triggers, envy, exhaustion
fatigue, lack of color, heavy eye-lids
unmatched skies, refusal of entry,
change, chaos, relaxation
the set continues
while you've lost the appetite
to even breathe
call it desperation, some say
but it is all in the gut, I answer.
you tell me after I nudge you
to eat, to drink
even to live
this is a deep hole that you've sunk in
there is no one to claim
parentage reasons
you hear of wired words hanging:
triggers, envy, exhaustion
fatigue, lack of color, heavy eye-lids
unmatched skies, refusal of entry,
change, chaos, relaxation
the set continues
while you've lost the appetite
to even breathe
call it desperation, some say
but it is all in the gut, I answer.
Surpassing heartache
Too long we have been on this road together;
you and I
we passed on another
on a cold winter night
we walked with awkward feet
colliding first into each other
too long have we been on this road together
but tell me how do we surpass
all the heartache that is there
with just a simple photograph
of you in a museum
smiling at a complex painting
folding into your hands
all the errors of my past.
you and I
we passed on another
on a cold winter night
we walked with awkward feet
colliding first into each other
too long have we been on this road together
but tell me how do we surpass
all the heartache that is there
with just a simple photograph
of you in a museum
smiling at a complex painting
folding into your hands
all the errors of my past.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
time and this body
Age is a reference
to the relation you have
with a timely body:
ailing, wailing, slowly failing.
to the relation you have
with a timely body:
ailing, wailing, slowly failing.
an aerial view of loneliness
There you are
standing tall like an elm
overseeing the crowds, like from a plane
an aerial view of loneliness
Monday, December 17, 2018
you come up
You come up,
like the treasure found at the end of a box
you come up,
like surfacing for oxygen
you come up,
like a word in a dictionary, looked for not found
you come up,
like a wind floating by quickly
you come up,
like the end of a choir
you come up,
like a sentence out of place
you come up
in stories, like a heavy character
you come up
in memory like its companion
you come up
in red and blue bruises
you always come up
like the treasure found at the end of a box
you come up,
like surfacing for oxygen
you come up,
like a word in a dictionary, looked for not found
you come up,
like a wind floating by quickly
you come up,
like the end of a choir
you come up,
like a sentence out of place
you come up
in stories, like a heavy character
you come up
in memory like its companion
you come up
in red and blue bruises
you always come up
even in tea
The tea here has your name
so I no longer drink it
dark, tall and handsome
the glass in my hand is empty
so I no longer drink it
dark, tall and handsome
the glass in my hand is empty
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Saturday, November 17, 2018
A wedding, unnecessary
There's an air that surrounds you
when you sit wrapping the night like a shawl
- that there have been silver linings, yours copper
- that there are smiles and expressions of love, yours void
- that there is another way to pick roses, yours is to plant
- that there are memories made between the laughs, your phone saves coversation
- that there is a new beggining
the night, cold wraps itself around your shoulders
when at the wedding you sit to think
of different ways to spell love
without slashing your wrists open by its glass.
when you sit wrapping the night like a shawl
- that there have been silver linings, yours copper
- that there are smiles and expressions of love, yours void
- that there is another way to pick roses, yours is to plant
- that there are memories made between the laughs, your phone saves coversation
- that there is a new beggining
the night, cold wraps itself around your shoulders
when at the wedding you sit to think
of different ways to spell love
without slashing your wrists open by its glass.
Fear and fire
Like a wildfire, it will eat up with its arms
all the sides of yourself you were keeping safe
this fear
all the sides of yourself you were keeping safe
this fear
a country of 3adi, normal
Adi', is the way we spell normal
like it doesn't hurt to breathe at times
Adi' is the longest wait before going home
not because the traffic is hell but because
the sea of cars isn't moving. Adi, is the youth
wasting hours of their lives struggling to be
clearheaded enough to take a jump. Adi, is a country of normal
where everything and anything is of itself a story
Adi, is the country where death walks hand in hand
with life, like an old bride and a groom.
Adi is the abnormality, of getting used to normal.
like it doesn't hurt to breathe at times
Adi' is the longest wait before going home
not because the traffic is hell but because
the sea of cars isn't moving. Adi, is the youth
wasting hours of their lives struggling to be
clearheaded enough to take a jump. Adi, is a country of normal
where everything and anything is of itself a story
Adi, is the country where death walks hand in hand
with life, like an old bride and a groom.
Adi is the abnormality, of getting used to normal.
When I'm sick
When I'm sick
my mind is at its sharpest in math
calculating distances without touching
on the times I shivered like a leaf
near the black board with the thought
that a pit of numbers will take me down
my dreams are different now
they are closer to touch
salty on my tongue
yet it remains a sharp brain in math
and a poor lung.
my mind is at its sharpest in math
calculating distances without touching
on the times I shivered like a leaf
near the black board with the thought
that a pit of numbers will take me down
my dreams are different now
they are closer to touch
salty on my tongue
yet it remains a sharp brain in math
and a poor lung.
if all of this fighting went to rest
If all of this fighting went to rest,
he asks, face twisted like three branches loose
where would we bury newly minted weapons?
he asks, face twisted like three branches loose
where would we bury newly minted weapons?
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Things to do with anger 3
of the things you can do with your anger
is stop answering the phone, hang it up
with its own chords to choke away the noise
of the requests lining up on your door.
is stop answering the phone, hang it up
with its own chords to choke away the noise
of the requests lining up on your door.
one hundred and two years old
one hundred and two years old
we are turned away from the face of the fire
by virtue of one document
oh, how important is paper to this land
taken out of the roots of its olives
splashed with the ink of hundreds tears
black as the day we were signed off
a place for no one, left for everyone
this is the fate of nations
for their kindness, a blow on the head
an increased hundred and two
years of pain washed out with sea-salt.
we are turned away from the face of the fire
by virtue of one document
oh, how important is paper to this land
taken out of the roots of its olives
splashed with the ink of hundreds tears
black as the day we were signed off
a place for no one, left for everyone
this is the fate of nations
for their kindness, a blow on the head
an increased hundred and two
years of pain washed out with sea-salt.
going back home
I am finally back
you write to me
I slip between sleep
and waking to ask you
what has been the most apparent
difference you've seen over
my body, the trees or the clear skies
I hear you say
the air, its different
smells like my childhood and your perfume.
things to do with anger 2
of the things you can do with your anger
is stand atop of a mountain and shout it out
hoping that the echo doesn't just
bring it all back.
is stand atop of a mountain and shout it out
hoping that the echo doesn't just
bring it all back.
Things to do with anger 1
of the things you can do with your anger
is make a ball of paper
throw it out in the nearest bin
Chores
The pan's lifted out of the fire
no burnt, the food filling stomachs
the sheets dry with the tinge
of the sweat that lined them for days
the boots all sparkling clear
of the dusk walked over in the streets
there is so much order in the house
where does this silence come from, then?
no burnt, the food filling stomachs
the sheets dry with the tinge
of the sweat that lined them for days
the boots all sparkling clear
of the dusk walked over in the streets
there is so much order in the house
where does this silence come from, then?
wearing pain in a disguise
Three blows and a pinch
on the cheek
you still think
your hand is kind
wearing pain in a disguise
on the cheek
you still think
your hand is kind
wearing pain in a disguise
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Sunday, olives
The ladder positioned between me and the tree
tells a hundred stories
of running away to hide in branches
where only the imagination would find me
scrawling a plan on torn pieces of paper
pretending its animals skin
that I am a queen from olden times
fallen into the recent age by chance
this is childhood, now older
with the tree in my hands
instead of me in hers
picking its sons and daughters
how much have you both grown!
question on origin, once more
I have once asked earth
am I from you?
when I do not have dirt in my hair
it laughed,
all I could know is that
I don't not know for sure
where I descended from
an earth or a sky
or probably a bit of them both.
am I from you?
when I do not have dirt in my hair
it laughed,
all I could know is that
I don't not know for sure
where I descended from
an earth or a sky
or probably a bit of them both.
Drifting in the wrong waters
How many times, would I have had to die
because my ship drifted to where I didn't ask
tornado at sea,
I, am the difficult storm ahead
how many have to go, so I could feel
the wind as a brother
on my neck,
because my ship drifted to the wrong waters
because my ship drifted to where I didn't ask
tornado at sea,
I, am the difficult storm ahead
how many have to go, so I could feel
the wind as a brother
on my neck,
because my ship drifted to the wrong waters
like your life is of no value
You point at an empty frame I haven't hung yet
asking
what would an empty womb use it for?
Saturday, October 13, 2018
Banal
The fights you pick
using arms, extended, legs bent
over things that cannot keep up the whole
banal the verse and the firearms
Friday, October 12, 2018
thinking about recycling
Dusty evening
a flat water-bottle pours
oxygenated breath down the amphitheater
a flat water-bottle pours
oxygenated breath down the amphitheater
ask and you will be answered
This is the fundamental lie
that questioning leads to an answer
maybe it is not that great, the answer
that arrives.
that questioning leads to an answer
maybe it is not that great, the answer
that arrives.
Freedom is restricted
close your mouth
put tape over its corners
tie your legs together
with a stone, send it down a lake
put your hands to other use
than typing on a keyboard
avert your eyes
from areas marked with "caution"
cut all buddings of feather
growing between your shoulders
this is natural, a redefinition
of you being free to be restricted too.
put tape over its corners
tie your legs together
with a stone, send it down a lake
put your hands to other use
than typing on a keyboard
avert your eyes
from areas marked with "caution"
cut all buddings of feather
growing between your shoulders
this is natural, a redefinition
of you being free to be restricted too.
Strike
It is all closed, the storefronts
the streets, all void of people
it is all kept at bay
the cooking, the school-boys running with burdened bags
it is all left behind
the tiresome, slow hours of work
it is all closed off, striking
except the windows to my heart, open.
the streets, all void of people
it is all kept at bay
the cooking, the school-boys running with burdened bags
it is all left behind
the tiresome, slow hours of work
it is all closed off, striking
except the windows to my heart, open.
too much excitement is not good for women
because the rational cannot compete with the tender
because the excepted cannot grant way for those unable to beat misery
with the back of their hands
because like little glitter you cannot box smiles
because there are things needed at the house
because the washing up will stay unwashed
the dishes dirty, the kids unfed
because it replaces the heart with a butterfly
because it is not acceptable
because it preludes to bad things
because it requires energy
too much excitement is not good for women.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
olive picking
Three on the floor
legs between buckets and century old trees
olives pitted and non pitted
let down to earth with nimble hands
legs between buckets and century old trees
olives pitted and non pitted
let down to earth with nimble hands
wedding rings, not needed
No wedding ring
on her fingers
incapable of loving
herself first
maybe it is not about
loving what's inside for once
maybe all this love
has to be splayed open
for the world to see it.
on her fingers
incapable of loving
herself first
maybe it is not about
loving what's inside for once
maybe all this love
has to be splayed open
for the world to see it.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Look at the birds flying south
Pointing to the birds in the sky you said
look at the birds flying south
an act of migration
I said, it was a dance
a murmuration,
an act of togetherness
into an open sky,
into the sunset the birds
move together
next to me, you were silent
your eyes on the horizon
its beautiful, you whisper
I'll think of birds now
of glorious sunsets
when I think that you left
fifteen minutes after the birds flew
Not the world ending
In simple few words, you say
the world is not ending
your face under the birds of paradise
framed well with the notion
that the world lasts
the distance between two eyes
it will not end, this world
because of loss
because of a few tears I've shed
while you were sitting across from me.
the world is not ending
your face under the birds of paradise
framed well with the notion
that the world lasts
the distance between two eyes
it will not end, this world
because of loss
because of a few tears I've shed
while you were sitting across from me.
to get to you
To get to you
I'd have to cross two oceans
I am not a great swimmer
I am also afraid of sharks
I am scared of the high tide
I am captured by the night
to get to you
I'd have to let go
what I have built slowly
an empire of bonds
writings on long summer nights
dancing bodies that excessive love
the difference between the moon and the night sky
to get to you
I'd have to give once more
without expecting to take anything back.
I'd have to cross two oceans
I am not a great swimmer
I am also afraid of sharks
I am scared of the high tide
I am captured by the night
to get to you
I'd have to let go
what I have built slowly
an empire of bonds
writings on long summer nights
dancing bodies that excessive love
the difference between the moon and the night sky
to get to you
I'd have to give once more
without expecting to take anything back.
Mission completed
The harsh hand
on your chest, closing in
like an end
it calls onto your senses
love is another way to showcase
violence
package it differently
with roses and determination
wills and vows to change
this is a new mission for you
with that harsh hand
a mission completed
wrapped on a delicate throat.
on your chest, closing in
like an end
it calls onto your senses
love is another way to showcase
violence
package it differently
with roses and determination
wills and vows to change
this is a new mission for you
with that harsh hand
a mission completed
wrapped on a delicate throat.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
all that's broken
a constant need of repetition
they call you obstinate
for trying to fix all that's broken
they call you obstinate
for trying to fix all that's broken
A stop on Earls Court Corner
Tyrian purple I decode for you, the name I read from right to left on the street corner
a tale before I pretend to lose my native tongue to process exile
even the bread we break later we don’t offer thanks for properly
to the gods that have kept their eyes open while we spilled out
read the rest here: https://crevice.ro/a-game-of-hands-rock-paper-scissors/
a tale before I pretend to lose my native tongue to process exile
even the bread we break later we don’t offer thanks for properly
to the gods that have kept their eyes open while we spilled out
read the rest here: https://crevice.ro/a-game-of-hands-rock-paper-scissors/
Aradi: Territories
Call it peasantry, the practice of hands turning the soil for air
dirt capsulated under fingernails:
a primal attachment that keeps you standing
dirt capsulated under fingernails:
a primal attachment that keeps you standing
gone is the old wind trapped under earth
leaving a new face out sunning
the arriving faces, like soil and oxen, turn over these small pieces of ground
leaving a new face out sunning
the arriving faces, like soil and oxen, turn over these small pieces of ground
Read the rest here: https://crevice.ro/a-game-of-hands-rock-paper-scissors/
A game of hands: rock, paper, scissors
it used to be a childhood play
that my hands would tell
your destiny
Read the rest here: https://crevice.ro/a-game-of-hands-rock-paper-scissors/
that my hands would tell
your destiny
Read the rest here: https://crevice.ro/a-game-of-hands-rock-paper-scissors/
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
other versions of a nightmare
I had a dream in which you died
when I opened my eyes
you screamed at me
when I opened my eyes
you screamed at me
Thursday, September 13, 2018
after the heart is open
After the heart is open
I tell her, a wildfire
sweeps around the edges of the room
taking with it, the clothes
the photos, the gifts,
all physical beatings over memory
after the heart is open
a hurricane storms
in its belly there is a calm
unlike a storm, safe from a rain
of stones and waters
things taken from other people
after the heart is open
there is a vacancy
like there never was
wildfire, hurricanes and earthquakes
all forms of natural disasters
caving at the touch of a lover.
I tell her, a wildfire
sweeps around the edges of the room
taking with it, the clothes
the photos, the gifts,
all physical beatings over memory
after the heart is open
a hurricane storms
in its belly there is a calm
unlike a storm, safe from a rain
of stones and waters
things taken from other people
after the heart is open
there is a vacancy
like there never was
wildfire, hurricanes and earthquakes
all forms of natural disasters
caving at the touch of a lover.
Flights,Birds, Skies
There is something the jailer does not know;
you can take the birds down from the sky
yet you cannot take the sky away from its inhabitants
it stays in them, because it has always been home
this is the sense of wings, there's a new power
that is given by virtue of the space that opens up
to contain the power of the flight
once taken, like a release, like freedom is to life.
you can take the birds down from the sky
yet you cannot take the sky away from its inhabitants
it stays in them, because it has always been home
this is the sense of wings, there's a new power
that is given by virtue of the space that opens up
to contain the power of the flight
once taken, like a release, like freedom is to life.
Daisies
Ring around the roses
but you pick daisies
not in season, these flowers
that are a wild spring breathing
daisies, daisies
denting on your window
this is age, you sleep
with the daisies looking after you
breathing.
but you pick daisies
not in season, these flowers
that are a wild spring breathing
daisies, daisies
denting on your window
this is age, you sleep
with the daisies looking after you
breathing.
in the room, a woman
She stuck in the room
like a cigarette
in a pile of cigars
less expensive
yet still destructive
like a cigarette
in a pile of cigars
less expensive
yet still destructive
recycling
reuse, the minute because it doesn't come back
reuse, the things you'd throw to others to handle your burdens
reuse, the power of the muscles on a human body
reuse, the weight of a summer's sun on your skin
reuse, the way you turn around to the sound
reuse, the births and deaths of hope
reuse, the purpose you've made for yourself, revised
reuse, the minute of eliminating burdens.
reuse, the things you'd throw to others to handle your burdens
reuse, the power of the muscles on a human body
reuse, the weight of a summer's sun on your skin
reuse, the way you turn around to the sound
reuse, the births and deaths of hope
reuse, the purpose you've made for yourself, revised
reuse, the minute of eliminating burdens.
left on a table
His breath in the coffee
her shades kept close by
both took a flight
up into the day
her shades kept close by
both took a flight
up into the day
poem and picture by author
Eyes
Hazel, like warm honey
these are the eyes I was given to look
I sought: the sun, the reflection of leaves, sunsets
Blue, like the ocean
these were the eyes I looked into
he sought: ice, skies, dusk
it was a matter of where
the eyes fell, for with the same shape
we still see with different colored eyes
these are the eyes I was given to look
I sought: the sun, the reflection of leaves, sunsets
Blue, like the ocean
these were the eyes I looked into
he sought: ice, skies, dusk
it was a matter of where
the eyes fell, for with the same shape
we still see with different colored eyes
minimal life
Try looking at the things you keep
unlike humans, you are able to discard
items that are shelled-out
fished from other people's pockets
or dreams, broken up stones
end of evenings, boring conversations
try extracting the old
out with it and in with shiny things
against the rule of your head
try looking at things you keep
to add onto you, like boulders
on your shoulders
unlike humans, you are able to discard
items that are shelled-out
fished from other people's pockets
or dreams, broken up stones
end of evenings, boring conversations
try extracting the old
out with it and in with shiny things
against the rule of your head
try looking at things you keep
to add onto you, like boulders
on your shoulders
battle warrior
a warrior after a battle
I stand without comprehending
how your voice rose
but I fell
I stand without comprehending
how your voice rose
but I fell
has this autumn started yet?
Has it started, a season like autumn
hot like summer, heavy on the heart
why then, does all this death look like a joke?
it has then started, the cycle of regeneration
fitting into us, a skeleton into the trees
like finger for wooden tables
does it have to make sense?
this destiny, this end
this vacuum?
hot like summer, heavy on the heart
why then, does all this death look like a joke?
it has then started, the cycle of regeneration
fitting into us, a skeleton into the trees
like finger for wooden tables
does it have to make sense?
this destiny, this end
this vacuum?
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
No one has loved enough
No one has loved me enough
you blink and tell me
to name stars after me
as if stars are lovers
when the night sky is lit
it is little moments we will remember.
you blink and tell me
to name stars after me
as if stars are lovers
when the night sky is lit
it is little moments we will remember.
like odd birds
Yesterday's discarded clothes on the table
you speak of desire like one speaks of birds
flying at odd directions, in odd hours
I listen as I put the clothes back in their shelves
you speak of desire like one speaks of birds
flying at odd directions, in odd hours
I listen as I put the clothes back in their shelves
To ease death we say
to ease death we say, all sorts of things
valid or just left there in the space that has been opened
to ease death we say
the baby was incomplete
the heart couldn't function anymore
fractured around its edges
to ease death we say
it was a disappearance
journey completed
from the East to the West
to ease death we say
the loved ones are gathered
somewhere that's boundless
maybe this is how the verbs break in on us
to ease death
regardless of what we say
waiting in a vacant time, lets us expand
into easier versions of the same death.
valid or just left there in the space that has been opened
to ease death we say
the baby was incomplete
the heart couldn't function anymore
fractured around its edges
to ease death we say
it was a disappearance
journey completed
from the East to the West
to ease death we say
the loved ones are gathered
somewhere that's boundless
maybe this is how the verbs break in on us
to ease death
regardless of what we say
waiting in a vacant time, lets us expand
into easier versions of the same death.
Monday, September 3, 2018
givers and takers
- practice an open hand
- practice taking something from an open hand
- practice slander
- practice remaining silent
- practice safe arrivals
- practice late text messages after worry
- practice love
- practice another version of love
- practice being present
- practice absence with an excuse
- practice snipping tree shoots
- practice planitng trees.
- practice taking something from an open hand
- practice slander
- practice remaining silent
- practice safe arrivals
- practice late text messages after worry
- practice love
- practice another version of love
- practice being present
- practice absence with an excuse
- practice snipping tree shoots
- practice planitng trees.
Inappropriate time
The open curtain lets in the wind
her bare body baring itself on the bed
you leave to pick up a call.
her bare body baring itself on the bed
you leave to pick up a call.
hunger
I've seen the orchard
filling with apples yet denied myself
picking the blood you've planted for the season.
filling with apples yet denied myself
picking the blood you've planted for the season.
Monday, August 27, 2018
The girl behind the camera
The girl behind the camera
is the one seeing you
not seeing her
it hurts to see the stars
yet only feel their glow from afar
is the one seeing you
not seeing her
it hurts to see the stars
yet only feel their glow from afar
After the music, bodies
Your body, left like yesterday's clothes
old music, neither indie nor popular
some form of a symphony that bridges
the space left on the bed
old music, neither indie nor popular
some form of a symphony that bridges
the space left on the bed
Dream ciphered
How this, I can see it clearly,
your arm, warm and hairy wrapped around my shoulder
I know it is wrong
the feeling that comes without my awakening
even with closed eyes
I can tell another woman's ring is on your finger
I don't budge
I don't open my eyes
instead I turn to look at your face
its details crafting a new explanation
to the term between the sheets
to synonyms to making love
an orgasm for the lonely times
without feeling the pangs
a throbbing of a definite sin
on a last day of fasting
but in the dream world
coded as in I want you
as in I need you
as in let me touch your body
or allow yourself to touch me once
again, even if I am sleeping
in my sleep.
your arm, warm and hairy wrapped around my shoulder
I know it is wrong
the feeling that comes without my awakening
even with closed eyes
I can tell another woman's ring is on your finger
I don't budge
I don't open my eyes
instead I turn to look at your face
its details crafting a new explanation
to the term between the sheets
to synonyms to making love
an orgasm for the lonely times
without feeling the pangs
a throbbing of a definite sin
on a last day of fasting
but in the dream world
coded as in I want you
as in I need you
as in let me touch your body
or allow yourself to touch me once
again, even if I am sleeping
in my sleep.
a writing in the head
How frustrating
is the process of writing
something that you cannot hear in your head
is the process of writing
something that you cannot hear in your head
Peace with a native tongue
The horse in me stopped fighting
for a greener pasture
made peace with the rye around because it was always home.
for a greener pasture
made peace with the rye around because it was always home.
Modern friendship
Break
yourself open, like a walnut shell
you still dance in the shadow
become a hazy memory that calls nothing for glory.
yourself open, like a walnut shell
you still dance in the shadow
become a hazy memory that calls nothing for glory.
& pride
That I step behind you when I could have stepped beside you
that I learn to look at the same things you see with an extended pair of eyes
that I take myself away from the floor and give you the dance
that I compensate of speechless moments with time
then call it a change of energy and something like love and power
packed in a cloud
that I learn to look at the same things you see with an extended pair of eyes
that I take myself away from the floor and give you the dance
that I compensate of speechless moments with time
then call it a change of energy and something like love and power
packed in a cloud
Monday, August 20, 2018
Grandpa on the chair
Like a guard lion I sit
near the window that looks out
you sit before me on the street
holding all the dignity in the crook of your arms
little fingers over the pedals and you roll
into the direction that goes outward
there are chairs that have been made for us
to wear them even if they fall upon us
but he was steady, the mark of youth
sitting directly like a carried gift
a boy in your lap, yellow haired
smiling as you carried him
like a vessel sailing toward the sea
you move swiftly enchantment
against a wind that rejects your bones
this is the love of a grandparent, it lifts outside of the waves.
near the window that looks out
you sit before me on the street
holding all the dignity in the crook of your arms
little fingers over the pedals and you roll
into the direction that goes outward
there are chairs that have been made for us
to wear them even if they fall upon us
but he was steady, the mark of youth
sitting directly like a carried gift
a boy in your lap, yellow haired
smiling as you carried him
like a vessel sailing toward the sea
you move swiftly enchantment
against a wind that rejects your bones
this is the love of a grandparent, it lifts outside of the waves.
like a diplomat, lover
You speak with the mystery
of a diplomat
because I don't complete your circle.
of a diplomat
because I don't complete your circle.
Scout girl in uniform
Girl scout in uniform
beret in hand, smaller than half my waist
lifts her head up, demands
a treatment that is fair to her
despite the lack of fair skin
long hair, night-dark
a mother behind her, makes a scene
with her projected speeches
about respect. I wonder
when will I be able to raise a woman
of steel and feather
able to love and break as equally
as two sides of a coin
a woman unlike me
that has no bother with the things
left behind sunny days
this is the effect of one girl scout
asking for a glass of water to quench my thirst.
beret in hand, smaller than half my waist
lifts her head up, demands
a treatment that is fair to her
despite the lack of fair skin
long hair, night-dark
a mother behind her, makes a scene
with her projected speeches
about respect. I wonder
when will I be able to raise a woman
of steel and feather
able to love and break as equally
as two sides of a coin
a woman unlike me
that has no bother with the things
left behind sunny days
this is the effect of one girl scout
asking for a glass of water to quench my thirst.
demanding parentage
Hard as stone
her demands, I complain to the wind
it hears me back with a song
she's your mother, isn't she?
her demands, I complain to the wind
it hears me back with a song
she's your mother, isn't she?
Sunday, August 19, 2018
a battle against tongues
I feel like I am running a battle against tongues
one my mother gave me that contains
enough expressions to make possible, life
with the others I have gained along the way
collecting like star-dust
meaning, word after word to make sense
of other ways to say the same things
but with gentleness, with vigor, with insanity
I feel like I am running a battle against tongues
that get out of the way when I love
because I lose language in seconds
before I fall
stammering at my basic ABCs
that are replaced by music,
butterflies and somber lyrics
one I call softness
I feel like I am running a battle against tongues
as one leaps to the front at the very minute I push it backwards
biting down on sailor language, wrong adjectives
in fear of the sharp blade it has
making peace in a battle is impossible
but living like siblings has proved a good use
for you cannot hate on your own blood
even if it flows through different veins.
one my mother gave me that contains
enough expressions to make possible, life
with the others I have gained along the way
collecting like star-dust
meaning, word after word to make sense
of other ways to say the same things
but with gentleness, with vigor, with insanity
I feel like I am running a battle against tongues
that get out of the way when I love
because I lose language in seconds
before I fall
stammering at my basic ABCs
that are replaced by music,
butterflies and somber lyrics
one I call softness
I feel like I am running a battle against tongues
as one leaps to the front at the very minute I push it backwards
biting down on sailor language, wrong adjectives
in fear of the sharp blade it has
making peace in a battle is impossible
but living like siblings has proved a good use
for you cannot hate on your own blood
even if it flows through different veins.
stress
the weight on your chest grows
by the number of years you add
subtract the way the world moves
outside of you
trees, clouds and the stars as they align
the plans you make and keep denying yourself the chance
to make come true
this weight on your shoulders
these long nights
these thoughts that belong to humanity
coming back only to find you
lying on your back, breathing slowly
once more
by the number of years you add
subtract the way the world moves
outside of you
trees, clouds and the stars as they align
the plans you make and keep denying yourself the chance
to make come true
this weight on your shoulders
these long nights
these thoughts that belong to humanity
coming back only to find you
lying on your back, breathing slowly
once more
what does it mean to not hold a destiny?
it meas another definition
of the verb roll
like throw carelessly into the pit
where you cannot see the end
this is what it means to not hold a destiny
said the beggar who sits on the doorstep
of the verb roll
like throw carelessly into the pit
where you cannot see the end
this is what it means to not hold a destiny
said the beggar who sits on the doorstep
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
at a party, your voice
at a party
your voice follows me
the falafels are present
you scream loudly
like I would hear you,
over all the versions of music
your voice follows me
the falafels are present
you scream loudly
like I would hear you,
over all the versions of music
facing fear
like the start of a new month
like standing on a high tower
this is how we face fear
with a head that's never ready
with a heart that's careless
like standing on a high tower
this is how we face fear
with a head that's never ready
with a heart that's careless
Monday, July 30, 2018
citywide
I have been thinking about this word for three days now
how can something be wide as the city
yet small enough to contain a sack of old marbles
crossing the pit where they were thrown
I have been thinking about this word for three days now
how a thing can multiply and find itself similar
in cities that wear different capes, husky
brawling, windy or plain desert like
I have seen people describe cities
like they would a lover
with soft eyes, with skin for stones
but I have seen cities eroding people
like lime to acid
like our city to our heads
this is a citywide gathering
for town-wide hearts.
how can something be wide as the city
yet small enough to contain a sack of old marbles
crossing the pit where they were thrown
I have been thinking about this word for three days now
how a thing can multiply and find itself similar
in cities that wear different capes, husky
brawling, windy or plain desert like
I have seen people describe cities
like they would a lover
with soft eyes, with skin for stones
but I have seen cities eroding people
like lime to acid
like our city to our heads
this is a citywide gathering
for town-wide hearts.
Sunday, July 29, 2018
in the bottom of a glass of beer
The world flips, languages change
yet here you are
stood in the bottom of a glass of beer
yet here you are
stood in the bottom of a glass of beer
words or selves
I got written a poem
to save my soul
you tell me and I am not surprised
you feel touched
I haven't written
to fill your voids
but should up at your door
wearing all the past you don't even remember.
to save my soul
you tell me and I am not surprised
you feel touched
I haven't written
to fill your voids
but should up at your door
wearing all the past you don't even remember.
blood moon
a blood moon
eats our skies
eats away the clouds
another face to the same star
eats away the anger
keeps still the pain
a blood moon
predicts
the end of an earth
with an earthquake
not a bang
not a whimper
not big or small
just a little shake
who said earth isn't allowed a dance
for her lover,
a heart-torn
blood moon.
eats our skies
eats away the clouds
another face to the same star
eats away the anger
keeps still the pain
a blood moon
predicts
the end of an earth
with an earthquake
not a bang
not a whimper
not big or small
just a little shake
who said earth isn't allowed a dance
for her lover,
a heart-torn
blood moon.
what continues
what you allow is what continues
this is a case that's almost the truth
cursive painted, how many times have you
stolen kisses in the elevator
called it a love, how many times have you
caught a wrist in the kitchen
grabbing hard the stick arms
bruised, called it another form of kindness
how many times have you told someone
who was uncalled for, it was called for?
what you allow is what continues,
touch, kisses, a word slanting sideways
you are what has been kept happening
a little less kindness, a little less love.
this is a case that's almost the truth
cursive painted, how many times have you
stolen kisses in the elevator
called it a love, how many times have you
caught a wrist in the kitchen
grabbing hard the stick arms
bruised, called it another form of kindness
how many times have you told someone
who was uncalled for, it was called for?
what you allow is what continues,
touch, kisses, a word slanting sideways
you are what has been kept happening
a little less kindness, a little less love.
an east wind in summer
standard summertime
an east wind blows my way
it's only an hour's timezone difference
an east wind blows my way
it's only an hour's timezone difference
the rule of three
the rule of three tells you
it is better to have only three things arrive
like lines in a haiku
it is better to have only three things arrive
like lines in a haiku
a nightmare of hallucination
There's a jaguar that follows your son
into a mouse hole, same available in cartoon
but you are real, flesh and blood in my arms
there's a daughter holding a teddy bear
crying about unborn children
yet she's unmarried
there's you, Kohl filled eyes
brown like pine cones
caressed and written for, for years
there's a moment of fear and love
wrapped like a blanket at once
like it's a thing we cannot deny
existing in the midst of all unexplained
switches, trees swishing over in seconds
transported into another space
that has no bitterness
you are real, flesh and blood in my arms
the jaguar gallops
your son goes into the mouse hole and wildly I wake up.
into a mouse hole, same available in cartoon
but you are real, flesh and blood in my arms
there's a daughter holding a teddy bear
crying about unborn children
yet she's unmarried
there's you, Kohl filled eyes
brown like pine cones
caressed and written for, for years
there's a moment of fear and love
wrapped like a blanket at once
like it's a thing we cannot deny
existing in the midst of all unexplained
switches, trees swishing over in seconds
transported into another space
that has no bitterness
you are real, flesh and blood in my arms
the jaguar gallops
your son goes into the mouse hole and wildly I wake up.
not a portrait
tired eyes that cannot look ahead
this is your body, heavy and lumpy post the morning hours
yours and not yours at the same time
the way it is fixed : not a portrait
not a painting, just a mere reflection.
this is your body, heavy and lumpy post the morning hours
yours and not yours at the same time
the way it is fixed : not a portrait
not a painting, just a mere reflection.
letter, words, thoughts
you can say a lot
in so many words, thus poetry
still never lacking in power
in so many words, thus poetry
still never lacking in power
Saturday, July 28, 2018
sickness strikes steady
you say it swiftly
like a sword it cuts
a sickness strikes steady
unnamed, a little virus
knocks down a fort
that was being built for five years
in limestone and alcohol
in abstracts and foreign words.
like a sword it cuts
a sickness strikes steady
unnamed, a little virus
knocks down a fort
that was being built for five years
in limestone and alcohol
in abstracts and foreign words.
noise licking my ears
I can never get used to the sound
arriving after glory of silence
with many tongues licking my ears
arriving after glory of silence
with many tongues licking my ears
with driftwood
We drift, each talking at a higher wavelength
call this another form of love
I call it another form of painting with blood
we call this a family swayed with driftwood
call this another form of love
I call it another form of painting with blood
we call this a family swayed with driftwood
heat and cold
how to do deflect from cold?
try a sheet made of wool
how do you deflect from heat?
try a bit of water for better measure
how do you keep a heart warm?
try small things
how do you keep a heart cold?
try the wrong statements
try a sheet made of wool
how do you deflect from heat?
try a bit of water for better measure
how do you keep a heart warm?
try small things
how do you keep a heart cold?
try the wrong statements
human formation
today I saw with my own eyes
how a human is formed
tiny dot, black in a black space
that falls into a void
tiny dot in a black sack
will arrive with a stork
when we stop waiting.
how a human is formed
tiny dot, black in a black space
that falls into a void
tiny dot in a black sack
will arrive with a stork
when we stop waiting.
dandelions, or mixed names
what do you call it,
she blinks at me
the flower that you puff
the one for the horses
we call it horse flower
what do you call it?
a dandelion, with mixed names
clear genes to hold its spine up.
she blinks at me
the flower that you puff
the one for the horses
we call it horse flower
what do you call it?
a dandelion, with mixed names
clear genes to hold its spine up.
Reputation to uphold
this is what is said about reputation
it has to be upheld
like a coin into the sunshine
it has to be upheld
like a coin into the sunshine
Monday, July 9, 2018
the poet on the job
There is always this fear
that you will get caught first
writing poetry, a virtual nonsense
or dreaming in a language of speed
type one word and quickly hide
as if lines were a bad reputation
that will follow you everywhere
that open you up, like a second tomorrow
there is always this fear
that you will have to recite verse
like you say your prayers
in silence or before everyone else
a new stop to shaky tunes
this happens when poets do work
manual in dirt
or in offices
this is the fear
that only stems from an imagination that knows
to write in short lines instead of long ones.
that you will get caught first
writing poetry, a virtual nonsense
or dreaming in a language of speed
type one word and quickly hide
as if lines were a bad reputation
that will follow you everywhere
that open you up, like a second tomorrow
there is always this fear
that you will have to recite verse
like you say your prayers
in silence or before everyone else
a new stop to shaky tunes
this happens when poets do work
manual in dirt
or in offices
this is the fear
that only stems from an imagination that knows
to write in short lines instead of long ones.
privilege
is to think with deep considerations
that none of your shoes fit you
when the children of your neighborhood walk the streets barefoot
that none of your shoes fit you
when the children of your neighborhood walk the streets barefoot
Thursday, June 28, 2018
in translation
For Z, the better poet
Your words have despair
painted over them like a flag
all I have to do is be a vessel
that carries you across to the other side
with clear thought patterns
copy and paste your despair
over the towns and trees you've cut
with the edge of words
all I have to do is be the eagle
that looks with a sharp eye
on the nuances of what you don't say
does it make sense to paint the desert sand blue?
this too, is vain, that poetry speaks
better truths than drunks
the truth is, in poetry we are both drunk
enough to reveal our biggest fears
etched with the sense that I lack
this very moment I am addressing
a body of words bigger than mine
washed out like a sea of treasures
fished out like the ways we spell
Baher, the sea, big and understanding of us both
this is what it is like to be someone's despair vessel;
attempt to cover the holes the wind insists on getting into with only bare hands.
Your words have despair
painted over them like a flag
all I have to do is be a vessel
that carries you across to the other side
with clear thought patterns
copy and paste your despair
over the towns and trees you've cut
with the edge of words
all I have to do is be the eagle
that looks with a sharp eye
on the nuances of what you don't say
does it make sense to paint the desert sand blue?
this too, is vain, that poetry speaks
better truths than drunks
the truth is, in poetry we are both drunk
enough to reveal our biggest fears
etched with the sense that I lack
this very moment I am addressing
a body of words bigger than mine
washed out like a sea of treasures
fished out like the ways we spell
Baher, the sea, big and understanding of us both
this is what it is like to be someone's despair vessel;
attempt to cover the holes the wind insists on getting into with only bare hands.
Lifted
I get lifted, in comfortable arms
a little darker than mine
a little less sure of where they are placed
adequately to not cause me pain
a little heavier than me
but strong enough to make a house from scratch
this is a scene: I get lifted in the sky
you stay grounded to this earth that holds you.
a little darker than mine
a little less sure of where they are placed
adequately to not cause me pain
a little heavier than me
but strong enough to make a house from scratch
this is a scene: I get lifted in the sky
you stay grounded to this earth that holds you.
worthless
Like a tidal wave
it washes over the shivering bird
worthless feathers is his only adjective.
it washes over the shivering bird
worthless feathers is his only adjective.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
hide your sons
Tell me where do I hide my sons
When you come at us, inspired
Tears and fires, hands and sticks
I don’t want any bones broken
This is what happens when sons
see their mothers beaten
with a stick like the end of a scarf
dangling into fire
wild and unforgiving
I don't want this to happen to my sons
tell me what to do
when you come at us, while we are chanting?
this is the price we have to pay
those who stand between the curb and the stones
eroding voices to get at the end of a song
that doesn't play but for some ears
tell me where do I hide my sons
from all this madness, this anger?
A search
I am looking for something that I miss
Made out of clay
Like a barouche,
or maybe the end of the day
Presented before
me- I know what I am missing
But I don’t want
to go seek it.
a cold birthday
Eyes drooping
with liner,
Cigarette at
hand and her birthday was very cold
Spent moving
between the rock and the harder place;
I haven’t been
home- she thinks
Because home’s
sunshine was the answer
unsolicited advice on love
In love, she tells me
Be
content with the minimal
You
are of an age that allows you
access
to minimal sources for the same waters
use
the little things you get, without sacrificing the rest.
even the things termed perfect
Even the things termed perfect fail;
in peak minutes
my hand stops writing with the same curves
poems for your eyes
you stop responding to steady walking feet
because yours are too heavy
the sun shines in all the wrong hours
causing us an excessive tan, unaccounted for
bodies get drawn to the wrong bodies
without just reason
even the things termed perfect fail;
there's a hole in happiness' belly
there's a hole in the pockets of the clouds
that's how we get the rain
there's a missing piece in all that's perfect
for even the narcissus' flowers lost their father in the pursuit of perfection.
in peak minutes
my hand stops writing with the same curves
poems for your eyes
you stop responding to steady walking feet
because yours are too heavy
the sun shines in all the wrong hours
causing us an excessive tan, unaccounted for
bodies get drawn to the wrong bodies
without just reason
even the things termed perfect fail;
there's a hole in happiness' belly
there's a hole in the pockets of the clouds
that's how we get the rain
there's a missing piece in all that's perfect
for even the narcissus' flowers lost their father in the pursuit of perfection.
Damning Cupid
This is the failure of the lovers
once sifted on two floating boats
the damnation follows cupid
who ties and separates bodies
once sifted on two floating boats
the damnation follows cupid
who ties and separates bodies
Delayed, for a hundred years
I am late
once more, it seems like it's been
a hundred years capsuled in twenty days
my bones ache
but I'm still breathing
once more, it seems like it's been
a hundred years capsuled in twenty days
my bones ache
but I'm still breathing
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
I am waiting
A vacuum in time
heavy feet continue to pace
the same small space that becomes more familiar
while we wait
heavy feet continue to pace
the same small space that becomes more familiar
while we wait
Gender roles
In the kitchen we talk about
the placement of our hands, our forks
speak of the way men sit and women pose
your voice gets louder, blaming me
for the spots on the dishes
while mine grows into yours spotting a cloud in your eye.
the placement of our hands, our forks
speak of the way men sit and women pose
your voice gets louder, blaming me
for the spots on the dishes
while mine grows into yours spotting a cloud in your eye.
it's calm
A thunderstorm beats around the edge of your balcony
it is calm, we say, this potential gathering of clouds
the wind blows eastward, taking with it leaves
shoots and dust, it is calm, a quiet noise around the house
it is summer and the streets are boiling
with a hint of those who have started to feel, it's calm
we speak of the sea that is high and infested
with jellyfish and human skins
it is calm, how we raise our heads to face mornings
that are full when they bend us in half
all is calm here, in the safest points of the mountain
where we overlook the sleepers and refuse to see
how calm turns us over in the head.
it is calm, we say, this potential gathering of clouds
the wind blows eastward, taking with it leaves
shoots and dust, it is calm, a quiet noise around the house
it is summer and the streets are boiling
with a hint of those who have started to feel, it's calm
we speak of the sea that is high and infested
with jellyfish and human skins
it is calm, how we raise our heads to face mornings
that are full when they bend us in half
all is calm here, in the safest points of the mountain
where we overlook the sleepers and refuse to see
how calm turns us over in the head.
miscommunication
I know how to cry
in so many different languages
none of which you know how to speak.
in so many different languages
none of which you know how to speak.
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Don't write
Don't write when you are angry
the words will slant
Don't write when you are happy
the words will buzz out
Don't write when you struggle for words
you cannot create what you don't have
Don't write when you want attention
it arrives with other means
Don't write when you are sleepy
you will rush the river
Don't write when you just woke up
the river will be lazy
Don't write when you are sober
the words will be messy
Don't write when you are drunk
the words will be honest
Don't write when you are in between
if you are unclear, how will you be?
Don't write when you are clearheaded
where is the fire?
Don't write when you are hungry
how can you arrive at the word when you cannot lift yourself up?
Don't write when you are full
the words will be sleepy
Don't write when you are unready
things will look like this poem
Don't write when when you are ready
because there will not be enough time
Don't write for a situation, be every situation with words.
the words will slant
Don't write when you are happy
the words will buzz out
Don't write when you struggle for words
you cannot create what you don't have
Don't write when you want attention
it arrives with other means
Don't write when you are sleepy
you will rush the river
Don't write when you just woke up
the river will be lazy
Don't write when you are sober
the words will be messy
Don't write when you are drunk
the words will be honest
Don't write when you are in between
if you are unclear, how will you be?
Don't write when you are clearheaded
where is the fire?
Don't write when you are hungry
how can you arrive at the word when you cannot lift yourself up?
Don't write when you are full
the words will be sleepy
Don't write when you are unready
things will look like this poem
Don't write when when you are ready
because there will not be enough time
Don't write for a situation, be every situation with words.
a hand in fire
I walk hand in hand with fire
you say it is not equal to water
who is crazy enough to compare
fire with water
equate the cause and its effect
the setting and the ending?
I walked hand in hand with water
you say it is cooler on your tongue
I articulate my vowels differently
how then, do you want me to speak to you
like fire, or like water?
you say it is not equal to water
who is crazy enough to compare
fire with water
equate the cause and its effect
the setting and the ending?
I walked hand in hand with water
you say it is cooler on your tongue
I articulate my vowels differently
how then, do you want me to speak to you
like fire, or like water?
solidarity with feeling
The voices that say
you have no space for feeling
despite having rubble in your lungs
it doesn't matter
this is the truth, no gas
no envy for the shortages
as if there is enough day
or night to cover the world
bone for bone
a cloud in the day
the voices that chant in marches
you have no space for feeling
turning a head to me
if only, they read.
you have no space for feeling
despite having rubble in your lungs
it doesn't matter
this is the truth, no gas
no envy for the shortages
as if there is enough day
or night to cover the world
bone for bone
a cloud in the day
the voices that chant in marches
you have no space for feeling
turning a head to me
if only, they read.
Friday, June 8, 2018
work backwards
I work on your words
backwards,
from finish to start, this is us
two mad lovers who fail at conversation.
backwards,
from finish to start, this is us
two mad lovers who fail at conversation.
Accusation
A mother with error
does not look back
retrace her steps in space
before her hand comes down on the child's shoulder.
does not look back
retrace her steps in space
before her hand comes down on the child's shoulder.
what are you waiting for?
Before the sunshine
before the husbandry
before re-learning to use my two hands for things other than typing
before drafting notes to be sent into space
before cracking a heart like a walnut
before break-age
before everything
what are you waiting for, now you see the end?
before the husbandry
before re-learning to use my two hands for things other than typing
before drafting notes to be sent into space
before cracking a heart like a walnut
before break-age
before everything
what are you waiting for, now you see the end?
speak of the gypsy
you speak of the gypsy
with complex paragraphs
you assume that like all others
a gypsy won't understand
because he moves too much
hauls the houses on his head
march, tell me,
do you think its easy restarting somewhere after your roots hit earth?
with complex paragraphs
you assume that like all others
a gypsy won't understand
because he moves too much
hauls the houses on his head
march, tell me,
do you think its easy restarting somewhere after your roots hit earth?
bad internet
This is the result of a third world country
an internet that cuts
mid-song, my chain of ideas
coming your way
your voice is ill-prepared
to the temperament in mine
this is all the result of a bad connection
blame the internet for it
blame us, for not beating our skins enough
to reach one another.
an internet that cuts
mid-song, my chain of ideas
coming your way
your voice is ill-prepared
to the temperament in mine
this is all the result of a bad connection
blame the internet for it
blame us, for not beating our skins enough
to reach one another.
Monday, May 28, 2018
stagnation, lies
How can one tell a lie
based on its size
as big as the ocean or a sea that doesn't move
this is how stagnant the words become, quickly.
based on its size
as big as the ocean or a sea that doesn't move
this is how stagnant the words become, quickly.
who wins against time?
Who wins against time,
if I leave the minute to look backward
at your body walking into a lit room
no one,
I hear your laughter
commending what I have left of bravery
that I have loved a ghost
dedicated my life to the shadow of a star
because it was easier to be in the dark
morbid, I know
but for some reason I think of you
young and raw, like a new apple left to nature
no one wins against time
it is the only race
I have been running for years.
untimely leaving
a departure arrives
by way of summer
I keep praying it changes
the first swallow has just arrived
by way of summer
I keep praying it changes
the first swallow has just arrived
another anniversary for the ones gone
for T, twenty years onward
Soft blue eyes,
pale to the understanding
a little girl
with her hand in yours
jumping over a moving stream
picking up the clothes for toys
because she would not have know
motherhood then, like she does now
soft blue eyes
never letting her cry
because tears are made with our most precious
pain, that reverberates
when she thinks of you
away from your city
your old bones now,
tired to the call of a voice
tender to the fact that you
her protection is the first true father
she's ever had.
Soft blue eyes,
pale to the understanding
a little girl
with her hand in yours
jumping over a moving stream
picking up the clothes for toys
because she would not have know
motherhood then, like she does now
soft blue eyes
never letting her cry
because tears are made with our most precious
pain, that reverberates
when she thinks of you
away from your city
your old bones now,
tired to the call of a voice
tender to the fact that you
her protection is the first true father
she's ever had.
the tongue in you
Your language gives me a boulder on the shoulder
breaks my arms
but I have to learn to speak with you like I would
an indentation in the silence
breaks my arms
but I have to learn to speak with you like I would
an indentation in the silence
Commonly Royal
Horse drawn carriage arrives
just like in the movies, except
the common has become a royal
with the bond of love
Sunday, May 20, 2018
a decade, outta line too
Things I learnt ten years after High-school graduation:
1. Time flies, literally and you grow older.
At 17 thinking of the future was just an exciting game, guesses, chances, potential was all dreams. But one minute becomes an hour and then you find yourself ten years later with memory. Adult-life is hard and time is precious, so is energy, this is something I learnt the hard way and because before you know it, ten years fly by and because time is precious those who surround us should be as precious.
At 17 thinking of the future was just an exciting game, guesses, chances, potential was all dreams. But one minute becomes an hour and then you find yourself ten years later with memory. Adult-life is hard and time is precious, so is energy, this is something I learnt the hard way and because before you know it, ten years fly by and because time is precious those who surround us should be as precious.
2. You will never be perfect, but you can be your truest self
Your flaws will never disappear so if you live with them that's the best solution! Grow, give yourself the chance to laugh at things you thought were central to your being 5 years ago because they make you "perfect". So much into the idea of "Perfect" comes from the world around us, exposure to insane beauty and thought standards changes us. Embrace yourself because your own arms give the best hugs.
Your flaws will never disappear so if you live with them that's the best solution! Grow, give yourself the chance to laugh at things you thought were central to your being 5 years ago because they make you "perfect". So much into the idea of "Perfect" comes from the world around us, exposure to insane beauty and thought standards changes us. Embrace yourself because your own arms give the best hugs.
3. Everyone is insecure, even the most confident.
This I've seen all over the world, I’ve even seen it with officials, successful authors and stars who are as hesitant and scared as an average 17 year old. Fear and the feeling of a compromised confidence is universal how you deal with fear is how you cultivate the facade of confidence you project to the world.
This I've seen all over the world, I’ve even seen it with officials, successful authors and stars who are as hesitant and scared as an average 17 year old. Fear and the feeling of a compromised confidence is universal how you deal with fear is how you cultivate the facade of confidence you project to the world.
4. Speak up and ask for things that are rightfully yours
When I was bullied, all I thought was: I am better than them. What I should have told myself is I have a voice that’s uniquely mine. Overcoming shyness is probably the best thing I've worked hard on for the past few years. Ask for things that are rightfully yours, don't be shy. I am still trying.
When I was bullied, all I thought was: I am better than them. What I should have told myself is I have a voice that’s uniquely mine. Overcoming shyness is probably the best thing I've worked hard on for the past few years. Ask for things that are rightfully yours, don't be shy. I am still trying.
5.You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress.
It is not a cut-clear process. Growth is a work in progress. Allow yourself time to give and receive, time to be a couch potato with crazy childhood-patterned PJs and allow yourself time to wear the Julian Macdonald gown and flaunt it.
It is not a cut-clear process. Growth is a work in progress. Allow yourself time to give and receive, time to be a couch potato with crazy childhood-patterned PJs and allow yourself time to wear the Julian Macdonald gown and flaunt it.
6. There will be friends, there will be lovers, there will be leftovers.
Life is unpredictable, always easier with friends: exciting with a loved one and boring with cold leftovers. The thing is, be conscious of who your friends are and don't measure them by years but by situations and the same thing applies to love but not for leftovers- eat good food while you still can!
Life is unpredictable, always easier with friends: exciting with a loved one and boring with cold leftovers. The thing is, be conscious of who your friends are and don't measure them by years but by situations and the same thing applies to love but not for leftovers- eat good food while you still can!
7. Buy the shoes, take the trip, learn the language, follow that dream.
In essence, don't be closed off to change. Don't deprive yourself of the things you love because passion gets you places. Passion about changing the world took me to Japan, to the States, to the Fringe Festival. Just believe in chances.
In essence, don't be closed off to change. Don't deprive yourself of the things you love because passion gets you places. Passion about changing the world took me to Japan, to the States, to the Fringe Festival. Just believe in chances.
8. Life is about hard work, but also about luck
Sometimes you work hard, it pays off. Sometimes you work hard and life treats you with a broken heart, camera and laptop (yes, that's another story for another day!). Sometimes life gives you a once-in-a-lifetime chance which can change your life in a minute like a year abroad for example. Take the chance, jump at things.
Sometimes you work hard, it pays off. Sometimes you work hard and life treats you with a broken heart, camera and laptop (yes, that's another story for another day!). Sometimes life gives you a once-in-a-lifetime chance which can change your life in a minute like a year abroad for example. Take the chance, jump at things.
9. It is never "too late", except in cases of apologies
it is never "too late" to wear bright red, to get married, to pull an all-nighter. I rode my first rollercoaster 2 days before my 24th birthday. I saw the ocean for the first time at 25. This also applies to thoughts, it is never too late to change your mind about pre-held "set-in-stone" ideas. It is never "too late" except if you've made a drastic mistake then waited six months without getting in touch with someone then it is "too late" to fix it.
it is never "too late" to wear bright red, to get married, to pull an all-nighter. I rode my first rollercoaster 2 days before my 24th birthday. I saw the ocean for the first time at 25. This also applies to thoughts, it is never too late to change your mind about pre-held "set-in-stone" ideas. It is never "too late" except if you've made a drastic mistake then waited six months without getting in touch with someone then it is "too late" to fix it.
10. Face your demons to become free, then smile
Face your issues head on, don't let them pile up and do it with courage and with a smile, with a good attitude.
Face your issues head on, don't let them pile up and do it with courage and with a smile, with a good attitude.
at twenty seven
I, the ultimate spoken
no longer look at my reflection
ugly duckling in my teens
a swan but not with beauty, with a pride
a step taken at twenty seven
no longer look at my reflection
ugly duckling in my teens
a swan but not with beauty, with a pride
a step taken at twenty seven
a weekend displeasure
that I care not to what you say
that's displeasure monitored closely
the minute we both step in ice-water
on the only weekend we had freely to ourselves
that's displeasure monitored closely
the minute we both step in ice-water
on the only weekend we had freely to ourselves
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Going back
Going back, I find
myself walking backwards to the sea
mixing fact and fiction,
stirring tears in tea
going back, I dream of
potential lives
various definitions of
normalcy:
a radio playing a
midnight love poem-
music to replace
shrieks,
stories about dancing bunnies
instead of departures
for a child's memory
a piece of orange
melting in my mouth
abstracts beget less blossom in using the
right verb
even the church's bell isn't shy from chiming
at mid-day
I count family members and pray in silence
use verbs like reduce, to tie my blessings
together
that I have language,
that I breath,
that I have stories
but I know nothing is normal
and I know the verb
return
is a synonym for stay.
a renewed faith
for miss B
You had a spark
a touch, that's always been different- you tell me
I shudder at the faith you give me
one I lost when I last saw you.
You had a spark
a touch, that's always been different- you tell me
I shudder at the faith you give me
one I lost when I last saw you.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
comparison
You look at your own eyes
to make a match of which is different
by virtue of an upper pupil
this is what happens when you compare
your old self with your new eyes.
to make a match of which is different
by virtue of an upper pupil
this is what happens when you compare
your old self with your new eyes.
for hope has more than one definition
The painter's tools before your hands
sparkle
when I ask you say;
there's more than one definition to hope.
sparkle
when I ask you say;
there's more than one definition to hope.
on the brink
on the brink of an upcoming death
that swears to not sound so negative
we find ourselves talking about a life
that waits for the decisions of those granting us time
not God, not nature, but others who like us
think they are above nature, above an all-seeing-God
because they hover in their steel planes over the clouds above
our cities
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Too many dates to remember
The time of birth, an exact moment,
coupled with the time of death- another
these are the dates you have to remember
a centennial of laughter and forgetfulness
what happens to the years in between,
is it just happenings or a time-filled question?
there are simply too many things to keep in mind
and there are things to evade
let slide like old mud, like nature taking care of its own
there is a time for birth of new ideas
there is also a time for death
there is a space for remembrance
yet there is a bigger space for forgetting
this is a poem that comes on your birthday
this is a poem that co,e on the anniversary of a death
dates to remember and forget at the same time.
coupled with the time of death- another
these are the dates you have to remember
a centennial of laughter and forgetfulness
what happens to the years in between,
is it just happenings or a time-filled question?
there are simply too many things to keep in mind
and there are things to evade
let slide like old mud, like nature taking care of its own
there is a time for birth of new ideas
there is also a time for death
there is a space for remembrance
yet there is a bigger space for forgetting
this is a poem that comes on your birthday
this is a poem that co,e on the anniversary of a death
dates to remember and forget at the same time.
protection, speech, silence
This is the notion that is left for us
there is no protection for those who speak
no more for those who are silent,
what then, do we do with our mouths?
there is no protection for those who speak
no more for those who are silent,
what then, do we do with our mouths?
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Amina, a girl
You look like what my grandmother
would have looked like, small and contained
like a shipment box on a rickety boat
aren't we tired yet of talking about the sea?
maybe we are but we are still unable
to find dry land, because drier lands breed
no future, just bucket-loads of dust
that piles to become make-shift houses
scary, isn't it? These thoughts coming from everywhere
and nowhere. From a lack of sleep
that characterizes itself in heavy eyelids
matching creativity
Amina, the name is a story
like my grandmothers'
to keep you awake
a child gets reaped
by will or by war
this is a story that births itself
in my water-filled lungs
everyday
like a shipment box on a rickety boat
aren't we tired yet of talking about the sea?
maybe we are but we are still unable
to find dry land, because drier lands breed
no future, just bucket-loads of dust
that piles to become make-shift houses
scary, isn't it? These thoughts coming from everywhere
and nowhere. From a lack of sleep
that characterizes itself in heavy eyelids
matching creativity
Amina, the name is a story
like my grandmothers'
to keep you awake
a child gets reaped
by will or by war
this is a story that births itself
in my water-filled lungs
everyday
awake
this is what your voice does
calling in the night-time
it is always beautiful to know
someone else shares your loneliness
in between the hours
you should have been sharing sleep
a dream that reaches
around all the heads you wear
but there you are, tiny, sitting voiceless
listening to a description, while awake
looking out on a nocturnal village
that rest at 3:00 am.
calling in the night-time
it is always beautiful to know
someone else shares your loneliness
in between the hours
you should have been sharing sleep
a dream that reaches
around all the heads you wear
but there you are, tiny, sitting voiceless
listening to a description, while awake
looking out on a nocturnal village
that rest at 3:00 am.
When does it come to life?
You ask, when does it come to life,
this passion- words exploding like sugar
when, you ask again
I tell you when faith returns once more.
this passion- words exploding like sugar
when, you ask again
I tell you when faith returns once more.
Piano-man
Your fingers, an instrument,
playing at their own pace
a heart of a rhymer, pacing
the notes, fall like water.
playing at their own pace
a heart of a rhymer, pacing
the notes, fall like water.
sleepless in your own bed
Much misery happening in your head
it is a shame
you lay sleepless in your own bed, every night
it is a shame
you lay sleepless in your own bed, every night
Saturday, May 5, 2018
Monday, April 30, 2018
courage, my girl
Push yourself
to be more like your poems;
a piece of courage jumping out of the window.
to be more like your poems;
a piece of courage jumping out of the window.
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Goodbye, to a friend
This is the status of departure
a dull goodbye
with bags dragging behind us both.
a dull goodbye
with bags dragging behind us both.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
A dancer in the mirror
Feet shuffling left and right
there's one rhythm,
does your heart beat to it?
there's one rhythm,
does your heart beat to it?
Friday, April 27, 2018
Jericho, a day out
The walls tumbled down
for too proud of kings
walk over their nations,
even in the desert
for too proud of kings
walk over their nations,
even in the desert
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Acre, a fort
Strolling by the port
midweek, the sea is the same
strong like the fort it lives on its feet.
midweek, the sea is the same
strong like the fort it lives on its feet.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
Bethlehem, a visit
Bethlehem,
here, He was born- a child
there, His Mother breast-fed him, on the road
while our mothers recluse to homes, in comfort.
here, He was born- a child
there, His Mother breast-fed him, on the road
while our mothers recluse to homes, in comfort.
Monday, April 23, 2018
the teapot, drying
On the counter, the teapot lies
its belly turned out, dripping water
you cannot pour out of an empty vessel,
you remark and the teapot continues to dribble water on my hands.
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Jerusalem, the heart
Eighteen times, built and destroyed
imagine the damage
I have only once built
one sandcastle then jumped on it
imagine, seven doors
open then another six waiting for Judgment Day
I have only once waited
for a letter of your judgment, never arriving
imagine a bullet-hole in a metal door
marking the wars on the land
I have seen a war rage inside of me
on the seven doors of the city, where I walk and weep every day.
I have seen a war rage inside of me
on the seven doors of the city, where I walk and weep every day.
Saturday, April 21, 2018
one arrives, one departs
On the gateway,
in the same hour, like swallows my friends
one arrives, one departs from my hands.
in the same hour, like swallows my friends
one arrives, one departs from my hands.
Friday, April 20, 2018
a man, a bird, a sky
I pin myself to the wrong kind of love
a bird that flutters away
when I walk the same patch of ground
a bird that flutters away
when I walk the same patch of ground
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Advised by the wrong weather
Shock the audience with the lyrics
said the musician
with an unfinished song.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
the speed of lightning
You don't return emails
yet I am aware,
you are gravitating towards me
with the speed of lightning
yet I am aware,
you are gravitating towards me
with the speed of lightning
Warplanes
I sleep to the sound of a warplane
hovering in the sky above me,
can the loved ones I lost pull it by the wings?
hovering in the sky above me,
can the loved ones I lost pull it by the wings?
Language on a crutch
I have severed the tongue in me, left it to wander for years
my native language limps onward
it walks by me on a crutch
my native language limps onward
it walks by me on a crutch
in a car with a stranger
- Which country held your body, the times your brain was working?
- Soils, with different twisted tongues: one for home, one for elsewhere
I pay my attention to the window, where the nose of the lady meets a setting sun
- The horizon is beautiful
there's a muffed silence in the car, like fog rising
from the dashboard onto the glass
- Why did you reverse your footsteps?
- in what sense is a return a reversal:
reversal denote eraser and who wants to erase their history?
- What is your direction of prayer?
- the same direction of the sun, Eastward,
not a key change if prayer is still kept as a habit
- You sound an awful lot like someone who....
- Got cut out from a rooted tree?
there's a muffed silence in the car, like fog rising
- where is home?
I look from the dashboard to the glass
I close my eyes.
- Soils, with different twisted tongues: one for home, one for elsewhere
I pay my attention to the window, where the nose of the lady meets a setting sun
- The horizon is beautiful
there's a muffed silence in the car, like fog rising
from the dashboard onto the glass
- Why did you reverse your footsteps?
- in what sense is a return a reversal:
reversal denote eraser and who wants to erase their history?
- What is your direction of prayer?
- the same direction of the sun, Eastward,
not a key change if prayer is still kept as a habit
- You sound an awful lot like someone who....
- Got cut out from a rooted tree?
there's a muffed silence in the car, like fog rising
- where is home?
I look from the dashboard to the glass
I close my eyes.
a letter of rejection
All these words
I still cannot tell you
I don't have space for you in my heart.
I still cannot tell you
I don't have space for you in my heart.
the things we talk about when we joke about alzheimers
Here is another way to tell you about a disaster
that has been conducive by age, numerals and numbers
you are losing brain cells
you mistrust
your hands to find the correct light-switch
or recall with the same intensity how to tie your shoes
there's space for spots
in your eyes
at times they fail to direct you right and left
but they direct you
to the time you were seven years old
when there were soldiers and a black bag
why black? your daughter will never know
this is a secret locked in your brain alone
unreachable
you will recall with clarity
a day that is received with
tears of joy
we joke now
about the times of washing machines
brimming with two-day washed clothes
we laugh at poor
eyes, that don't see in the dark
but we forget too, that this was once life.
that has been conducive by age, numerals and numbers
you are losing brain cells
you mistrust
your hands to find the correct light-switch
or recall with the same intensity how to tie your shoes
there's space for spots
in your eyes
at times they fail to direct you right and left
but they direct you
to the time you were seven years old
when there were soldiers and a black bag
why black? your daughter will never know
this is a secret locked in your brain alone
unreachable
you will recall with clarity
a day that is received with
tears of joy
we joke now
about the times of washing machines
brimming with two-day washed clothes
we laugh at poor
eyes, that don't see in the dark
but we forget too, that this was once life.
1520, generating
This is the beauty of new things
and a burden too, generating
1520 times, these words to you
and a burden too, generating
1520 times, these words to you
Stick incense
Reminder of an India I have never seen
with my very eyes, the smoke rising slowly toward the ceiling
reminds me of an India I have never seen live
but heard in a northerner's Urdu wordings
a delicate Delhi accent, a Punjabi poet rising
like smoke out of ashes.
with my very eyes, the smoke rising slowly toward the ceiling
reminds me of an India I have never seen live
but heard in a northerner's Urdu wordings
a delicate Delhi accent, a Punjabi poet rising
like smoke out of ashes.
Monday, April 16, 2018
a burial service for the King
Here lies the silent music
of the mourners, piling like rice
waiting for a resurrection
in a wasteland
here like the silent music
of the mourners, with flowers
holding petals, shredded out
yellow, red, pink and gradation of hope
for the King lies in a shroud
made with musk and linen
wrapped, Lord of the universe
maker, human, seeker of peace
here lies the silent music
of the mourners, us among them,
in black and dark blue
roughened and bruised
mourning the tapping
of a morning on the windows of resurrection.
of the mourners, piling like rice
waiting for a resurrection
in a wasteland
here like the silent music
of the mourners, with flowers
holding petals, shredded out
yellow, red, pink and gradation of hope
for the King lies in a shroud
made with musk and linen
wrapped, Lord of the universe
maker, human, seeker of peace
here lies the silent music
of the mourners, us among them,
in black and dark blue
roughened and bruised
mourning the tapping
of a morning on the windows of resurrection.
Sharing stories
Like word of mouth
is the story, formed with superstition
leaves way for blabbermouths
to keep on rambling
is the story, formed with superstition
leaves way for blabbermouths
to keep on rambling
the light of Easter
Believe it or not,
this is how the light disperses
exploding out of death
to rise, on Easter
this is how the light disperses
exploding out of death
to rise, on Easter
A kind of love
This is what you need
as the month opens and closes
a kind of love that storms
with or without the aid of crystals, your head.
as the month opens and closes
a kind of love that storms
with or without the aid of crystals, your head.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Rethinking heritage
A vision of my grandmother, with glasses on
strands of yarn in her fingers making jackets
to restrain warmth in my chest
this is heritage,
the way love is weaved for us to hold in our hands.
strands of yarn in her fingers making jackets
to restrain warmth in my chest
this is heritage,
the way love is weaved for us to hold in our hands.
A busy person
Give the best job, to the busiest person
you wrote to me without thinking of logic
how can the status of being under pressure give way
to the tide to flow under feet?
This is our daily
take out the last bit of rye to make bread
keep the time like the seconds
maybe there will be space for us to achieve,
those dreams we have kept on the shelves for years.
you wrote to me without thinking of logic
how can the status of being under pressure give way
to the tide to flow under feet?
This is our daily
take out the last bit of rye to make bread
keep the time like the seconds
maybe there will be space for us to achieve,
those dreams we have kept on the shelves for years.
Jealousy, revisited
Your quivering voice
lights up the nightly conversation
about another woman in his hairy arms.
lights up the nightly conversation
about another woman in his hairy arms.
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