Day like rain, a cast iron crow
Furling its wings in thin emptiness
My heavy body holds the wound
Deep inside black iron cloud
Raining down when the body fails
Wild thick it spring
No lesson in compassion
No cold hand season
Sun unreckon I dissolve
To summer hanging I bring
Dispersal of seeds legion
Mentor in the epic
With fake face and wisdom
Storm invest a second reason
Somehow calm of the ungrey crowd
Somehow still their war hungry violins
Image: “Crows Rock” by Hartwig HKD, licensed under CC 2.0
KAZIM ALI was born in the United Kingdom to Muslim parents of Indian, Iranian and Egyptian descent. He received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Albany-SUNY, and an M.F.A. from New York University. His books encompass several volumes of poetry, including Inquisition, Sky Ward, winner of the Ohioana Book Award in Poetry; The Far Mosque, winner of Alice James Books’ New England/New York Award; The Fortieth Day; All One’s Blue; and the cross-genre text Bright Felon. His novels include the recently published The Secret Room: A String Quartet and among his books of essays are the hybrid memoir Silver Road: Essays, Maps & Calligraphies and Fasting for Ramadan: Notes from a Spiritual Practice. Ali has taught at various colleges and universities, including Oberlin College, Davidson College, St. Mary's College of California, and Naropa University. He is currently a professor of Literature and Writing at the University of California, San Diego.
Latest posts by Kazim Ali (see all)
- An Odyssey - February 7, 2019