Three Poems by Ali Znaidi

Counter Silence

by ALI ZNAIDI

 

Light withers in the cemetery.

This cemetery is a sea of tar

housing inky bodies.

 

Only worms like to lick

those antiquated bodies

devoid of post-modern spiritual lanes.

 

Those bodies take the shape of

formless lusterless holograms

dissipating in a myriad of labyrinths.

 

Death is insinuating through the clayish walls

looking for a shadow;

for smothered sounds:

 

That bee which died yesterday

is still buzzing.

 

 

a decapitated rainbow

by ALI ZNAIDI

 

politics necessitates lies…

 

— a flashing blue thick mascara hiding

thin brittle eyelashes

 

… & when the political discourse destroys

dreams

 

…& when politicians’ words turn to be just

pop-up guns

 

…& when their words are woven into pulp

fiction

 

the great dreams, the translucent colours

soon to be a decapitated rainbow

 

thin light represses thick light!

 

 

Orgasmic Reverberations

by ALI ZNAIDI

 

This exhausted body exhibits

undressed

wounds.

The bones are exposed.

The marrow is in the raw.

Pain is being turned into a song.

—Sad beats echoing orgasmic austerity

measures.

 

Ali Znaidi (b.1977) lives in Redeyef, Tunisia. He is the author of several chapbooks, including Experimental Ruminations (Fowlpox Press, 2012), Moon’s Cloth Embroidered with Poems (Origami Poems Project, 2012), Bye, Donna Summer! (Fowlpox Press, 2014), and Taste of the Edge (Kind of a Hurricane Press, 2014).

 

Editorial Note: (Please Read Closely Before Submitting)

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To submit to Poets Basement, send an e-mail to CounterPunch’s poetry editor, Marc Beaudin at counterpunchpoetry@gmail.com with your name, the titles being submitted, and your website url or e-mail address (if you’d like this to appear with your work). Also indicate whether or not your poems have been previously published and where. For translations, include poem in original language and documentation of granted reprint/translation rights. Attach up to 5 poems and a short bio, written in 3rd person, as a single Word Document. Expect a response within two months (occasionally longer during periods of heavy submissions). Submissions not following the guidelines may or may not receive a response.

Poems accepted for online publication will be considered for possible inclusion of an upcoming print anthology.

For more details, tips and links to past installments, visit http://crowvoice.com/poets-basement. Thanks!

 

Editorial Note: (Please Read Closely Before Submitting) Poets Basement is now on Facebook. Find us ashttp://www.facebook.com/poets.basement. To submit to Poets Basement, send an e-mail to CounterPunch’s poetry editor, Marc Beaudin at counterpunchpoetry@gmail.com with your name, the titles being submitted, and your website url or e-mail address (if you’d like this to appear with your work). Also indicate whether or not your poems have been previously published and where. For translations, include poem in original language and documentation of granted reprint/translation rights. Attach up to 5 poems and a short bio, written in 3rd person, as a single Word Document. Expect a response within two months (occasionally longer during periods of heavy submissions). Submissions not following the guidelines may or may not receive a response. Poems accepted for online publication will be considered for possible inclusion of an upcoming print anthology. For more details, tips and links to past installments, visit http://crowvoice.com/poets-basement. Thanks!