September 2010
Fata Morgana
A new poem
by Yusef Komunyakaa
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I could see thatch boats. The sea swayed against falling sky. Mongolian horses crested hills, helmets edging the perimeter, & I saw etched on the horizon scarab insignias. The clangor of swords & armor echoed & frightened scorpions into their holes, & the question of zero clouded the brain. I saw three faces of my death foretold. I sat at a table overflowing with muscadine & quince, but never knew a jealous husband poisoned the Shiraz. I laughed at his old silly joke about Caligula lounging in a bathhouse made of salt blocks. |
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