for Ibtihal Ahmed
وش اللوم ما بنزاح بلملعقه”
زي اثر سلم الحوش مابختفي وسط الطين في المطر
“كان ظنك جرس الحقيقه وانا ابكم مبتسم اسقي الجميع بكاس تعرفينه جيدا
-خالد التني
You were right about him,
With your psychology books and spirituality،
You guessed in that gypsy way of yours،
That we would lose our jobs,
At first I thought you bitter, unlucky
But you were only truthful, that afternoon.
We both collapsed under all those lights and pressure
Like Ice cream propped carefully for a magazine ad,
But he managed fine, without you at first, then me.
When we got in the way he took the liberty to change our script
We became slanted stage directions,
A nod, a hiss, a crackle, an effect
What did we honestly expect?
That we’d be given the stamp and emblem of his entourage,
A front row view of his glamorous parade,
I’m afraid I can only blame the bright lights
The ways deers do before their spirits pass.
I have auctioned off my costumes and initialed socks,
I have joined a yoga class, and begun collecting rocks
I am looking for that life we discussed in that brochure,
I am amazed at how easily chakras wash, I am pure….
You were right about him,
Now we have identical piercings,
And scars we can brag about over coffee.
I do not want a plain croissant,
