on the backs of hands -------------------------------------------
here.
and now .
in this arid land
we see how the backs of hands carry pictures that spell water.
and god.
(so is henna just another stairway,
on which graceful movement is oppressed by black wool
and the fevered corruption of a prophet's will?)
and her sad eyes recount one thousand and one tales:
some are tragic;
still others cruel but
all of them are beautiful in their way.
(and you would know
that i have swum in the perfect asymmetry of those eyes
and i have drawn glyphs on the backs of a water hunter's hands,
with fingers better made for drawing a bow).
yes we choose the marks that our hands might make,
so that they may be lost,
in the way that the rub' al khali might swallow them
or so that they may be found,
in the way of those that might travel up to moons...
some of the ladies are so creative and skillful when they add the henna and the places that henna ends up never ceases to amaze me! i walked into a salon two Eids ago to see a young lady bicycling her legs in order to dry the henna on the bottom of her feet. i always think it looks very sad and shabby though when it begins to wear off. tbc
Submission Name: on the backs of hands
