Ali Znaidi

there is no scar in the marble of her skin

bodies are mortal
life is not a zero-sum game in which either the flesh
or the soul must lose
life is just a sum total of watercolours
& all creatures are just seeking recognition on the canvas
of an artist behind closed doors
mystery is there
to convey a welcoming presence:
survival needs maintenance and inspiration
still those nyphms are having luncheon on the grass
while Sappho is bathing in the lake
it is the translucent light
no room for pitch-black earth
just a lot of room to patch your psyche
darkness is always a lost cause
nothing mortal when it comes to poesy
nothing mortal when the butterflies begin to fly
seen from afar they lighten the firmament
{what a surprise}
i don’t see any scar in the marble of Sappho’s skin
i am awakened by the light:
REALLY nothing mortal when it comes to poesy
i just want to carve the word ‘eternity’ on her marble
i just want to make a vispo—
a Sapphic vispo drenched in light

Ali Znaidi (b. 1977) is a Tunisian poet of English expression. He authored four poetry chapbooks including Experimental Ruminations (Fowlpox Press, 2012), Moon’s Cloth Embroidered with Poems (Origami Poems Project, 2012), Bye, Donna Summer! (Fowlpox Press, 2014), and Taste of the Edge (Kind of a Hurricane Press, 2014). He also authored a fiction book titled Green Cemetery (Moment Publications, 2014) which is in fact the first Tunisian flash fiction collection originally written & published in the English language. You can see more of his work on his blog at aliznaidi.blogspot.com, and follow him on Twitter @AliZnaidi