murmur.osi

' laundry '

i have often seen them
dangling from the clotheslines
something worn or worn out
a woman's flimsy gown
voicing an unknown longing
those blue collared denims
articulating toil
a toddler's nappies
shouting unrestrained joy
old faded pyjamas
rumbling of arthritis ,
that wild floral t shirt
oscillates adolescence ,
while the wind goes along
each pocket and hollow ,
through the pillow covers ,
reliquaries of truth ,
or blueprints of aches
and ecstatic moanings
made of ordinariness
murmured to oneself
and vaporized in thin air ..

original / z.g.

[Ed: Line 13 - oscillating adolescence
Line 14 - the wind does go along ]

hesitation.osi

' azure agonies '


i let my thoughts go
winding across ground zero
from an empty nothingness
down a labyrinth of blues
through the twin towers
of many stories
of many voices
of many colors
where they held the placards
where they lit the candles
bracing the something-ness of life
from where a dove flies
and merges into the ether
of a limitless blue space
i know it looks the same
from wherever you are ,
i open the window
unsurely, hesitatingly
to let the sky in ..


original / z.g.

[ Ed : Line 4 - down a labyrinth of pain ]

Ref :

( To - - - mark the International Day of Peace, renowned primatologist and humanitarian Dr. Jane Goodall - - visited Ground Zero with a small group that included the Reverend Lyndon Harris, formerly of St. Paul’s Chapel - - the little chapel that stood through 9/11 and served as a relief center for workers who toiled many months at Ground Zero.The group flew Giant Peace Dove puppets at the site, to express their desire for a world where war and violence are things of the past - - )

 [ additional reading _ for-our-world-a-poem-written-on-9 / 11-by-mattie-stepanek_ the boy poet ]

running .osi

' marathon '


the bills go through the roof
prices sting like a bee
costs pinch like a cranky shoe
paucity tries to hide
beneath a frayed carpet
the curtain is opaque
but the news slips through
the hole in the pocket
cleverer than a stitch
the steam in the oven
cooks up the tempers
running out of hand
with no finishing line
when you run a family ..

original / z.g.


( Ed : line 1 - bills go over the rooftop
line 7 -but the news gets through )

insomnia .osi

[ To Every Child Affected By War ] _

^{' psychosis '} _{- [ baghdad ]}

a thousand wailing violins
the din of rusted noises
gestating silences
the wolf moon of winter
empty deserted streets
of a war torn city
countless luminous blinks
flickers in an ageless night

nameless agonies
plain faced sorrows
fireworks of a shooting star
sirens of the night patrol
a little child shrieking ,
what keeps them awake ,
while sleep intrudes reality
with a dream or a nightmare ..

original / z.g.

gold .osi

' life '

they all come in gold
foxes and fishes
birds and the flowers ,
i live in a children's story ,
a blonde priestess of hope
hands me the morning ,
crooked magicians play
tricks in a shadowplay ,
toy soldiers like gi joe
keep track with the sun
buddies like pinocchio
letting lose the fun ,
time enters
on a trojan horse ,
yellowing me with age ,
i keep growing old
but never grow up ..

original / zg

[ Ed : Line 1 - scattering the gold ]

single.osi

' addresses '


jackals howl a mystery
the leaves rustle with longing
the winds sigh for no reason
crickets talk to the heavens ,
a maze of stars shimmers
like fireflies burning
a night of moonlessness ,
it could be anything
love , illusion or nothingness ,
just what is it ,
roads of black tarmac
like a dark night
insomniacal
run through the city
from house to house , door to door
where the answers live ..

original / z.g.

[ Ed ; Line 4 - the crickets add a chorus ]

blowing the curve.osi

' ECG '

an arc , a line and a dot
build a question mark ,
to understand curves
see how the river flows ,
find that the clock is still
but the pendulum swings ,
trapezing through dawn and dusk
light and shade boomerang ,
watch the skyscraping neons
stabbing the night with purple
with fluorescent blues ,
like spectral cardiograms,
like jagged price indices
shadowing the passers by ,
who turn and twist and bend
negotiating the curve
of the cost of living ..

original / z.g.

[ Ed : Line 4 - flow like the river ]