2 Poems

By MICHAEL CAYLO-BARADI

Towards Algiers

 

The desert scatters

on our feet. It’s the only

 

surrender that counts,

vast, unobstructed.

Winds forge directions

for us, where

 

suns thirst

restless salaats.

 

Moons huddle

a glimmering city

 

in your eyes.

They curve down

 

your neck, down

to mine, as shadows

 

hold the arcs

of its light.

Unveiled in Tangier

 

Finally, we gave in.

At least, for now.

 

Souks, alleys, and tunnels

guided us there,

 

through muezzins

flooding

 

the Strait of Gibraltar.

Your gestures

 

stretched the sun,

loud as minarets.

 

Floors tiled patterns,

rising on walls,

 

prayers, and

premonitions.

 

Moonlights, too,

had been squared out.

 

Their curves could

bind whispers,

 

in moments

gasping for God.

 

Michael Caylo-Baradi’s work has appeared in The Common, Metazen, MiPOesias, Munyori, PopMatters, Prick of the Spindle, The Los Angeles Daily News, Our Own Voice, and elsewhere. 

Photos by flickr creative commons users Maurice Michael and Primeroz