Love Is the Risk

Love, the dutiful wheels

of time, the mother’s

milk, the arthritic

fingers rinsing your dish, the words

you can’t remember (to the music

you can never forget). Love is not the rose

but the soil kissing its feet and water

feeding its verdant bones and sun care-

ssing its palms lifted in prayer.

Love is the risk

the sky took, be-

coming, sacrificing,

letting the stars each take

a share of its heart to shimmer

with the generosity of a being

who has known how it feels to be

loved.

Red, Blue, Purple, Brown, Yellow, Light

First it was bright red, like the red rose
he gave me with a kiss on our first date.
Two days later it turned blue
as his eyes, a blue
so cold as arctic air blows.
One morning it changed anew
to purple, a painful purple, purple-black.
That’s when I cried recalling his attack,
and my bones shook.  You low of the lows!
Who said you have the right to abuse
another human being? I don't hate
you—I said in the mirror when the bruise
had turned brown and yellow.  I choose
a life of self-respect now, but you, you lose—
I repeated in my head when the bruise healed late
one evening at last.  You lose because you chose hate.
You lose because you pushed me and I fell, but I‘m back
up, reborn under a rainbow of light. Life is good. I am great.

Sky Ghazal

I saw my lover's face in light at dawn
The sky's visage in candlelight at dawn

Sky's face dyed with streaks of rose and lemon
As though a bursting dynamite at dawn

I wish I could reach up and touch the sky
Just like a rising delta kite at dawn

If I could breathe in the sky's scent up close
How I envy the birds in flight at dawn

My love for sky's sweet face keeps on burning
Yet all Arash can do is write at dawn

Last Fall

Leaves of saffron and marigold
mingled with canary and rose,
some shattered, some frozen
within the mud and early snow.

The scent of chilly air and soil,
the sound of familiar voices
rising up at once to a roar,
the feel of gloved fingers below,
all fused becoming something new
that grew more and more distant,
but she enjoyed her last fall; every hue.

Tragedy of the Little Goat

The moonlit rows of roses guard
my garden's grace.  They taste so good 
to Goldberg's goat.  It coughs and burps 
and rams my door.  Gobbles my reds,
repays in dung.  The scent of stool
should guard my plot.  I shake my head,
I sigh, sit down.  But soon it's she
who turns and eats, my full goatee.

Love

In a vase
Love arose.
Love, the dirt.
Love, the rose.

Love in space.
Love in time.
Love in "not."
Love in "I'm."

Love, the name.
Love, the bounds.
Love, the taste.
Love, the sounds.

Love, inside.
Love, out there.
Love, to be.
Love, as care.

Love is safe.
Love is hushed.
Love is dared.
Love is rushed.

Love, to get.
Love, to give.
Love is long.
Love is live.

Love is old.
Love is teens
Love is ends.
Love is means.

Love in flesh.
Love in soul.
Love that lacks.
Love is whole.
 

----------


Love of eyes.
Love of lips.
Love of curves.
Love of hips.

Love the scents
Love the chests.
Love the beards.
Love the breasts.

Love that lures.
Love confessed.
Love that woos.
Love undressed.

Love, you need.
Love, I must.
Love, you crave.
Love, I lust.

Lovemaking.
Lovemaking.
Lovemaking.
Lovemaking.

love   p  u  l  s  a  t  e  s
lovesunite
l
o
v
e

i
t

p
o
u
r
s
love red white

Love, in bed.
Love, each breath.
Love, in sky.
Love, till death.

Love is pledged.
Love, with dread.
Love, engaged.
Love is wed.

Love is mine.
Love is yours.
Love, kisses.
Love, the chores.

Love, the spell.
Love, achieved.
Love, labor.
Love, conceived.

Love, revealed:
Love, from womb.
Love, that lives.
Love, to tomb.

Love of babes.
Love wiggles.
Love that coos.
Love giggles.

Love of play.
Love, explores.
Love of toys.
Love, all fours.

Love, their dolls.
Love, car toys.
Love, our girls.
Love, our boys.


----------


Love we fake.
Love we lie.
Love we sell.
Love we buy.

Love we use.
Love we waste.
Love we wound.
Love we base.

Love you faced.
Love you fought.
Love you failed.
Love you, not. 

Love you held.
Love you veiled.
Love you walled.
Love you jailed.

Love you left.
Love you forced.
Love we took.
Love, divorced.

----------


I


Ache for love.
Bawl for love.
Pray for love.
All‒for love.

Love I feel.
Love I do
Love I be.
Love I you.

I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.

I asked love:
What am I
now to do? 
Whispered Love:

"Like your love.
Love your love.
Live your love.
Lavish love.

Once is love.
One is love.
Oath is love.
Old is love.

Visit love.
Vouch for love.
Voice your love.
Vote for love.

Every love.
Earthly love.
Earnest love.
Easy love.

Look for love.
Opt for love.
Value love.
End with love."

Love I love.
Love your love.
Love for love.
Love with love.


Love loves love.
Love loves love.

Love loves

Love.

Love loves

Love.




Love.  Love.  Love.


Love,





love