poetry

Three Poems by Ali Znaidi by Ali Znaidi

 

éloge des fourmis noires

 

black ants

sit stark

against a waning moon

forming a line

—a nocturnal shadow

forming a cascade

of a genetically altered

pearlescent comfort zone

 

I could see black moonstones

glittering in their backs,

 

bright & per[fume]d

 

 

 

Typos

 

Typos make the waves protrude.

That same sea exudes out lifeboats,

thus making the seagulls

utter new screeching sounds

—enigmatic colony of beats reverberating

in my ears’ trapdoors,

thus compelling me to move to & fro

between the tide & the ebb of a world

 

full of catastrophic types of typos.

 

 

 

a neglected business

 

no sight & still you see

each snail lies in a little somber shell of its own

 

you are still there weaving music

out of choppy sea’s waves

 

that evening voodoo does well its homework

 

seeing is a worn-out

activity

 

listening is a neglected

business

 

 

 

 

Ali Znaidi (b.1977) lives in Redeyef, Tunisia where he teaches English. His work has appeared in Mad Swirl, Stride Magazine, Red Fez, BlazeVox, Otoliths, streetcake, & elsewhere. His debut poetry chapbook Experimental Ruminations was published in September 2012 by Fowlpox Press (Canada). From time to time he blogs at aliznaidi.blogspot.com and tweets @AliZnaidi.