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'THIS WORLD WITHIN ME IS TOO SMALL'
Death moves his hands through me again
A lonely outsider among men
I’ll keep my silence here
I’ll leave this place alone
I’ll give myself to no one at all
Death moves his hands through me again
A lonely outsider among men
This world within me is too small
But still inside it something sings
I’ll keep my silence here
I’ll leave this place alone
'CAPSIZED HEART'
Why do you kill me like this, untethered soul
Oh, capsized heart
Who will fill the chamber left vacant by a mother, brother, father?
My sorrows do not anchor me
I drift along life’s random waves to a place my soul will stir again
And here my capsized heart
Will forget, will forget itself
'I HAVE ARRIVED'
I have arrived
I’ll pick out my own song
A music that will bleed the heart into silence
I have arrived
I’ll pick out my own song
Line by line
And at last
Throw back my head and sing
'100 NAMES FOR GOD'
There are One Hundred names for God
Allah, Buddha, Bhagwan, Waheguru, Baha, Yahweh
Two Hundred Sixteen
Two Hundred Sixteen letters
Each vowel, each consonant, each syllable
Eleven Names
Eleven names for God
Harmless, Joyful, Angry, Blue, Orange, White, Cream, Milk, Bourbon
Twenty names for God
The Beetle, The Butterfly, The Parasite, The Host, The Visitor
The Child, The Mother, The Grandmother, The Grandfather Clock
The Cutlery, The Table, The Cloth, The Thread, The Needle
Haystack, Farmer, Worksong, The Labor, The Sweat, The Dirt, The Weeds
There are One Hundred names for God
Forty-one names for God
Dance, Crawl, Prostrate, Sit, Stand, Shout, Shriek, Whisper, Pout, Argue
To bruise another
Sight, Smell, Taste, Touch, Songs, Hymns, Verses, Silence, Refrains, The Sound, The Noise, The Voice
Sixty-five names for God
There are One Hundred names for God
Prime, Odd, Even, Addition, Units, Miles, Bolded Lines, Circle, Square
Exponential, Square, Fence, Prison, Embrace, Remembrance
Eighty names for God
The Dead, The Living, Cherubim, Seraphim
Ancestors, Generations, The Temporary, The Permanent
Paths Taken, Paths Declined, Hoof-prints in the Sand
Tears of Sadness, Tears of Joy, Tears of Weariness
Wonder, Blindness, Shivers, Love
His Name
All the names, my names, One Hundred names for God
'I AM NOT MINE'
I am not mine, not mine anymore
He is my only consolation
He gives my life richness
He, a treasure beyond price
He alone provides my refuge
He. He. He.
I am not mine, not mine anymore
Uniquely, he reigns
Incontestably he reigns
He alone attracts me
He. He. He.
I am not mine, not mine anymore
'CHANSON'
Pendu dans le noir
Les étoiles illuminent
Le contour d’un visage, son visage…
Ancré dans les dunes
Le sable trace le contour d’un sourire, son sourire...
Cigarettes and anisette
Smoke floats while liquor spills
Rythme dans les vagues
L’océan respire le contenu des poumons
Ses poumons qui remplissent les miens
Cigarettes and anisette
Smoke floats while liquor spills
Damn this happiness! Damn my joy!
Maudite soit cette séduction déserte
Maudit soit tout! Maudit soit son sourire!
Cigarettes and anisette
Smoke floats while liquor spills
I make a stab at happiness
Drinking does not relieve my suffering
Sa constellation vivide
La lune croissante trace
Un sourire moqueur
Rhythm in the waves
The ocean breathes
The contents of the lungs
His lungs that fill mine
'BARREL AT THE BREAST'
Fingers tease the trigger
A pact is made
Barrel at the breast
Under the chin
We ease into the meter of our Arab poem
Cigarettes and anisette
Barrel at the breast
Under the chin
Smoke floats while liquor spills
'YOU ARE THE DUST'
You are the dust
You are the sand
You are the breathing earth
You are the flood
You are the road
You are the flood
You are the one
The one most loved
When left behind
'THE HUNTED'
I have arrived
I’ll pick out my own song
This music will bleed the heart into silence
I have arrived
I’ll pick out my own song
Line by line, and at last throw back my head…
I am the hunted, the assassin’s prey
Men who do not know me
Annihilate a helpless dreamer
I am inching towards an abyss
The assassin’s prey
I am the hunted
In this vast, mysterious world
Nearly shattered, nearly destroyed
With faith and pride intact
My soul tempered, I am not weakened
'MEKTOUB (IT IS WRITTEN) PART ONE'
His absent breath drinks from another woman’s lips
His letter bathed in another woman’s sunshine
His newfound joy from another woman’s smile
How quickly love evaporates
Leaving me a desert
His embrace cradles another woman’s back
His tenor pours another woman’s name
How quickly love evaporates
Leaving me parched
His fingers weave around another woman’s glove
His beard tickles another woman’s cheek
His heart beats to another woman’s rhythm
How quickly love evaporates
Leaving me a desert
How quickly love evaporates
How quickly he evaporates
Leaving me a desert
It is written
How quickly he evaporates
Leaving me parched
Leaving me
'MEKTOUB (IT IS WRITTEN) PART TWO'
O capsized heart
This is familiar, this is my companion
If tomorrow arrives
I will fill it full of warm memories
And sweet regrets
Death is familiar, death is my companion
Guide me to oblivion
No illusions, I wait for you
How quickly love evaporates
Leaving me a desert
No shudder, no fuss, no agitation, no revolt
Death is familiar, death is my companion
Wash me away
'HERE WHERE FOOTPRINTS ERASE THE GRAVES'
Here where footprints erase the graves
A tranquil heart is mine
Here where footprints erase the graves
These hours are no more than moments of light
In this blanket of blazing stars