Peter
       

Is it unthreaded without music I come
To Silence of god as ruin
All the strings of the body believe
Its own orchestra of always opening

Outside the sparkling silk rope of river
Marked by time and wind
Records its milky account
Water and light are granular

We are multiple beings always impossible
To hold or bind by the since wild wind
By the first gold dawn denying I ever knew
This world barely holds me

Seen through water or seen through
Light on the rain or snow
Makes you more blind
Why I am bound

To not declare in public my griefs or rapture
The way a body opens in love or death
A peony wilting past summer
How can we live without animal urge

To be measured or known like that
Chill in the air to mark that twice yearly chore
Carrying the plants in or out so they can live
All while knowing how ill equipped I am to help things live

It's true I denied three times but I did not lie
The cock kept crowing its historical doubt
But what I said was: I do not know Him
And it's true: I did not know Him

Tweet
Copyright © 2020 Kazim Ali All rights reserved
from Colorado Review
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission