Poems by Kazim Ali
American Poets Continuum Series
The Fortieth Day takes its title from the various incarnations of that chronologically symbolically event: if after forty days and forty nights the deluge receded, if Jesus and Moses both wandered in the desert for forty days, if after forty days—according to the Quraan—God’s breath enters an embryo and imbues it with a spirit, then the fortieth day must be the last moment before deliverance, a moment in time when a supplicant or prophet or storm-beaten passenger knows there is no state “after,” but finally accepts the present state as a permanent one.
Throughout the four sections of The Fortieth Day, a supplicant writes letter after letter that is unanswered, an old man pauses on the street unsure of which direction lies his home, silence deafens, and prayers of various orthodox and unorthodox kinds are constructed and offered. Where does inspiration to live come from? Why is it important to think about the spiritual condition of the world? These poems can’t answer these questions or perhaps won’t, because it’s the process of thinking about them that is privileged in this richly layered text.
Rope
The wintered plot concludes in a chapter he refuses to translate
The lyre is a liar, a string of gut pulled taut
As a newborn his father whispered into his ears the call to prayer
Each strand of his father’s voice is a shaft of light from Heaven
A rope thrown down to rescue him
He wants to grab hold, climb up, disappear
Available editions:
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Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-934414-04-0
Price: $16.00
Publishing Date: May 2008
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