Composition the Human Body.

Composition: the human body orange-colored balm mint your own hand writing autograph which forms a musical note empty stalk of grape vine bent like backs in old age your own hand writing a numerical sign equal to one while an animal lies in the sand pale with pains in the hips from drawing water devour it fruit rind coriander abbreviations for the moon and the palm blossom glides pleasantly down the throat sagacious garment with a train touch the ground with your own face ophthalmia running eyes during the ninth month of fasting and I move my lips as though I am speaking to luxuriant vegetables dried by the sun cut open sheep and roast it in its skin upon heated stones under glowing ashes multiplied by four: grandchildren, descendents, progeny what is powdered what is scattered call back memory female palm tree what is taken from a thing a sick person in the autumn-flesh grass dyed red with henna reply to a letter your own hands writing you are anything but transcendental milk of the morning and noon covered with cloud and taste it in a temporal world camels on journey what is powdered and scattered in the tributary mouth foam of sea in the springtime give a square or quadrangular a hand embroiders silk with pearls that crush to dust what is powdered and scattered a geomancer in a sand heap what is worth looking at handwritten leg, trunk, stalk, column, pillar, changes color becomes dark ashy gray bare upon prayer-carpet stretch ones self who is abused bY everybody make of the masculine gender anything memorable sabay small black shells sea dervishes running and I move my lips as though I am speaking and tazzahhur creates tazalzul reads the human body at epoch write in beautiful characters jasper and amulet sing "Hah-i make many words sab-a-t or become seven jessamine ones self in its skin the ground with your own face empty stalks cut open a numerical sign equal to one handwriting anything to fall back on sawalib, salabiyya, sayin, wanderer who mortifies herself composition what is powdered and scattered tossed into channel the human body honey dung ashes

This poem is part of a larger work by Mara Leigh Simmons entitled Anatomically. The work began with her interest in the way that Hebrew and Arabic are informed by, bound, and linked to their place of geographic and historical origin.

This work was submitted through the Ron Brown Project, a project of the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, NC. This project explores the connecting points between dance the written word, and involves several local publications including New Life Journal. Area writers and poets are invited to submit works limited to 400 words for publication based on the theme "Coming from where I am from." December 15 deadline.

For guidelines and information, contact Hilarie Burke at [e-mail] or call 828-281-4808.