Simian

That cat needs to remove
my self from its intuition.

I am the kid with the animal box,
a mannequin on an escalator.

I was socialized
with the body of a robot.

My phonographic arrival
is the sound of mummification,

THE RATTLING

heads of babies.

Doorway

That fish is a shadow
cast from a dreamcatcher.

1985

I was
discovered

beneath

the toad cloud
with a mushroom

in one

hand and a tomato

in the other.

I guess

I'm glad

I'm

not the turtle.

Autumnal Coming

Leaves
begin to fall.

The deer
have returned

to the light
from the canopy.

Two squirrels
spiral up a poplar.

A spiderweb
and the branch of an oak

come together
as a dream catcher.

This is communion.

The Apology

Books began
to open up

between us

and I am sorry
for the pages

I wrote you.

A Celestial Compass (by Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī)

Tonight the stars unite, scatter, scintillate

it's a bridal decent from skies above 

a full moon.

Venus serenades her celestial songs

like a drunk nightingale in spring.

Northern stars wink amorously at Leo

Pisces stirs up dust from deep beneath.

Jupiter gallops towards Saturn:

Saddle up old man,

let's rejuvenate.

Mars, palm bloodied, sword sheathed 

is a healer now

benevolent, like the sun.

Aquarius, the waterwheel of life

pours pearly rain on Virgo.

The seven sisters, eternally synthesized,

have no fear of Libra.

Could Aries ever flee its mother in rancor?

Sagittarius, moonstruck, heart-pierced,

roams the impassioned night

bound to Scorpio.

Cancer, mud-struck, void of celerity,

needs a sacrificial bull to pull through.

On a night like this 

the sky is a compass

and love is bliss.

Shams, at the break of dawn

the luster of your moonlit face

transforms the dark night

to bright day.

*From Love Mad: Poems of Rumi. Translated from the Persian by Kambiz Homayounfar.

Good News

One of my poems was recently published in the summer 2012 volume of Obsession literary magazine. Have a read please, and support Obsession.