Zaid Shlah
Monday, November 9 at 7:30 PM
Sacramento Poetry Center at 1719 25th Street
Host: Emmanuel Sigauke
Born in Canada, and of Iraqi heritage, Zaid Shlah currently resides in Northern California with his family. His poetry has appeared in literary magazines, journals and anthologies in both Canada and the US. In May of 2005, he was awarded the American Academy of Poets Award. His first book of poetry, Taqsim, was published in the US and in Canada (Frontenac House, 2006). His second book of poems and essays is entitled Clockwork (Frontenac House, 2015). He teaches composition and literature at Modesto Junior College.
An Ant Climbs a Wall
Somewhere between
Istanbul and the Ottoman’s
last breath
an ant legs its way up
an ancient, white wall.
an ancient, white wall.
At a certain protrusion
in the wall, the ant tumbles
to the ground—
in the wall, the ant tumbles
to the ground—
I have been watching
it climb now, only to fall,
for over three cups of tea.
it climb now, only to fall,
for over three cups of tea.
Farther off to the left the
fallen remains of Aphrodite
continue to decay in the
fallen remains of Aphrodite
continue to decay in the
garden, while the muezzin
sounds late afternoon’s
prayer—I am neither
sounds late afternoon’s
prayer—I am neither
Muslim nor Christian,
though I can hear the ants
prayer against the wall:
though I can hear the ants
prayer against the wall:
tiny hairs of resistance
against an objective fate;
while I, fully immersed in
against an objective fate;
while I, fully immersed in
the faith of hot tea, leave
the sugar unstirred at the
bottom of my stikan.
the sugar unstirred at the
bottom of my stikan.
