national theatre, cairo

unpublicized, unknown
they will no longer
bow to you
(those greats
of an age
expired)
for the twisted
memory does not
bow down.
a gesture, a
curse, on the
patterned gravel
(knowing
of your existence
is a must)
in the spectacle
arena
of the street.
"barter my soul for a
penny
of your time"
(said
the first
to the second)
"know my insides out
for a
penny of your time."
oh the stabbing
silhouette
knows no limits
(says
the image
to its counterpart)
knowing the
beauty of a moment:
where the late sun scatters pledges.
we will not forget you
national theater,
ancient greats,
(mourning
the blazing
loss).
oh no,
we will not forget you.

osamadawod.com

electric chair

spring array, ochre peanut pressed,
salty, fresh, blessed flesh;
spring headed south, electrifying pushing
harshly against the silent floor.

midnight drive

soaring down into town,
not wondering, just going;

wheels pummeling on tarmac --
for no great a cause as this.

bottle green and yellow sour
shining and blurring souls,

symbols, signs -- indications
as the white lights advance.

nocturnal passage plans to take me
far away from the known,

and angels crave more attention
than the darkness out the door.

curve of concrete, blast of shine --
acid quickens to a sure split.

developing a dark progression,
it watches as the journey unravels

on my midnight drive.

reclining

reclining on the ground,
my toes braided into the
surrounding red.

i take a glance upward
into your lens, intoxicated in
the moment of simplicity.

palming the fur as i imagine
harmony, nectar
on my mythical horizon.

singing in the street

we went for
singing in

the street.

a rising up of
spontaneity
and the

innocence of the evening

caused by a pursuit
of poetry.

two laps of
16th and mission,

did nothing for
our quest,
and everything for,

togetherness.

all the while,
the winds calmed
to an amplified

sway,

as we continued our
browsing and arousing

on valencian streets,
past clothing, fittings
and musical

outpour.

you improvised lines
and, i, wondered at

the night.

until the bookstore,
where,

sitting on the red floor,

we stared caffeine dazzled
and love

dazed.

sitting in a perfect
frame

between
keats, wordsworth and

yeats.

we sang the
innocence

and daunting

beauty,

of it all.

Anaïs, Anaïs, French translation

je t’ai trouvée Anaïs Nin,
je t’ai trouvée et je refuse de te laisser partir

je sens ton souffle chaud sur ma joue.
je sens le sang se déplacer en ton coeur tandis que

je caresse et palpe ton sein.
j’ai rêvé de toi la nuit dernière—

je t’ai aperçue du coin de l'oeil
,je t'ai fixée du regard,

je t'ai fait rougir j’ai joué dans l'espace de ton âme.
je me languis d'utiliser des mots qui feront battre ton coeur.

je sais ce que tu penses, ce que tu ne penses pas,
Je vois aussi que tu réfléchis trop

je veux te tourner le dos, te laisser te mettre derrière moi
je veux - oh Anaïs Anaïs - je veux te laisser me trouver aussi.

Huka Falls

Waikato invites

the wanderer
to wonder

after Oruanui’s
majestic
outpour.

Hukanui.

turbulence
climbs the narrow gorge,
the dense foam
shifts,
slides,
pulling and pushing
through the acid
volcanic
rock.

i stand
on the bridge,
looking down,
taking in
the sublime
magnitude of that
milky blue
stain.

Huka Falls.

nature’s beauty
made into
tour bus fare.

it has taken
one day
and a half
for us to
get to this point.
via Aratiatia
after the yellow
belch of Rotorua.

and here
the black war
looms.
the hostile
treads through my
head and
i hear its
roar.

and now,
you are gone.
and now,
you are long
lost
in the green
hay grass

by Huka Falls.