World in Hand

"Kifa, nabki, min zikra habibin oua manzili, 'ala sikkat al'liqua" (My friends, let's stop here and weep, in remembrance of my beloved, on her traces, here at the edge of the dune) -- 'Imru Al Qays

One day Majnun was sifting dirt in the middle of a road.
An ascetic asked him:
"What is it you are seeking here, Majnun?"
"I seek my beloved Leyla," Majnun replied.
The ascetic said: "How can you expect to find a pearl in the midst of rubbish?"
"Well," Majnun answered, "I look for Love everywhere; I am apt to find her somewhere."
--Attar of Neishapur

Majnun sifts the dunes that cross his hand
to seek his love within their caravans;
for Leyli lies within one grain of sand.

Amidst the arcing scorpion's ampersand
and death in desiccating finger-spans,
Majnun sifts the dunes that cross his hand.

Her light has passed beyond this hinterland
of night; of worthless jewels; of cold divans,
for Leyli lies within one grain of sand:

her world, the footfalls of a saraband,
circling dust-bowl, sand-bound Calibans.
Majnun sifts the dunes that cross his hand;

his tears of loss mere pearls from Samarkand;
his memories, soft Honan courtesans,
for Leyli lies within a grain of sand.

Yet still he seeks, in vain, to reprimand
himself for lifting the veil: still he plans;
Majnun sifts the dunes that cross his hand
for Leyli lies within a grain of sand.

Previously published in The Worm

by Nigel Holt

Nigel Holt is a teacher who lives and works in the UAE. He has been published in a number of venues, the most recent of which are: Snakeskin, Contemporary Sonnet, and Umbrella, and has work forthcoming in Contemporary Rhyme. He is also co-editor of The Shit Creek Review with Australian poet, Paul Stevens.

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