I have some shoes
from the souq in Fes
like Bing and Bob
Morocco bound
long long toes
Babouches
Pasha Persian slippers.
The shopkeeper told
me when I wore them
they would make me
a real man,
a strong man,
a locomotive into a tunnel
all night long.
When I play the tabla
tap tap tapping
Maqsum, chiftertelli,
Ayoub, women
dance the camel and
the serving girl and
when they shimmy my
slippers toes curl
tighter and tighter with
the rhythms of their
undulating bodies
and when they stop
the toes uncurl again,
slack, flaccid, but
when they move again
the toes curl tighter
and tighter and tighter.
When I tried those
slippers for the first
time I embraced the
shopkeeper stroked
his back blew warm
breath into his ear.
Effendi!Effendi!
he cried in alarm.
Stop!Stop!
You've got the shoes
on the wrong feet!
No comments:
Post a Comment