More of you /

It may be well that we don't have
a daughter – else my heart
could burst from seeing you,
condensed in a new being,
not entirely repeated – 
but carried forward
with a tint of me
(some waviness of hair?
of somewhat lighter black?)
I don't think I could know
how to react without dissolving,
how to hold this in my arms
without imploding from the power
of another such existence.


MR @verse

Tearing off another page /

Here’s to another month
Of languid, peaceful winter,
Only rarely windy,
Only slightly cool.

@verse

A Cummings nocturne /

The night guards
disappear into the
darkness noise of their
devices scraps of football
voice a family with far-
away child or a gently dog
sounds village life
an ocean miles ago

Palms bitterly bright
outside the office building –
2AM white streetlight

A beached taxi
driver next to tire
phone lighting face:
pale cigarettes of this today


MR @verse

My life as a rat /

Yes, every city is a cage
of streets, seen from above,
but also – of your habits:
Paths you take (or don't),
cafes you frequent,
squares you pass
on your way home,
to work, to dance
on Friday night,
and restaurants
you might have dined at,
had they not been closed.

Oh, yes. A dozen roads
and fifteen hundred extras
would be enough
to film your whole
damn life on set –
and yet you need
a million people
to feel thoroughly alone?
Ten thousand destinations
to pretend you're cornered?
Five hundred thousand
square kilometers to stay
away from land in towers,
way above the 40th floor –

Ah, yes. A Universe,
to know: it's there,
outside the door.


MR @verse

Off the Books /

God isn't a medication,
to take like the doctor said.
God doesn't have Terms of Use,
he's not in the fine print.

You know God in your heart —
yet let others explain
what God is, what God does,
what he wants you to do.

And when you believe them
they happily call it 'belief'.


MR @verse

Gravity /

A red balloon,
almost exhausted,
creeps along the wall
like a lost pet.

Oh, how you soared,
you poor thing!
Did you think
the Earth forgets?

@verse by MR

(Now also in pictures)

Durée /

A quarter of a century
is longer than
a quarter of an hour –
by only ten


@verse

Departed /

No, Jesus is not here.
I saw his kind, sad face
on board a train,
just standing at the door
and looking out
into the twilight
of this empty platform —
no one else to see him off
except a moth,
attacking station lamps
by way of "fare-thee-well".
And when the bell
and then a puff
and then a tug
removed him, sideways,
into distance —
I read "Godless"
on the blue-white signs.

@verse by MR

Clipping sound of scissors /

My barber's like a priest:
how long since your
last haircut? Then,
we sometimes smile
that way and back
until he says:
'No more, I think.'
And I agree
and dive into the world,
refreshed by silence.

@verse by MR

The Lands of Poppies /

You can’t bring poppy seeds
of any kind into the Emirates,
they told me. So it is here,
outside, that I enjoy my
dearest flowers bloom
their bloodstains on the grass
under the passing clouds,
their tissue petals – oh so fragile,
oh so loud.

@verse by MR

Migrations /

soon the season
will take me far
away from heavy
books will sit on
summer shelves
unleafed through
undisturbed save
by the duster of the
maid until October
smiles Orion from
the balcony and
falcons instead owls
and no more dogs
in restaurants and
has it really been
another — yes,
we're back and,
why, we aren't
even gone yet.

@verse by MR

Dubai's Cold Skin /

I like to cross the space
between the buildings —
just to touch some
undeveloped ground,
shovel some sand and gravel
with my sandals — wondering,
which dried-out sea
had once caressed these crystals
only to be dumped here by a truck.

@verse by MR

Interview with a war /

What are your plans? Any surprises?
Where do you see yourself twelve
months from now? Five years?
Let's talk about your childhood.
Was it your father's or your mother's
influence that brought you here today?
Explain this N-year gap in your career.
Are you expecting children? Ambitions:
would you rather rule the world —
or reach perfection in a single region?
Are you better than your peers,
especially those with more experience
in other markets? Compensation:
do you feel this number would be just?
I must say that your references
are impressive: highly recommended
by the worms. My final question:
How come we're on speaking terms?

@verse by MR

Midnight scramble /

The agony of looking for your phone
when you don't dare to ring,
at night: the black device
tee-heeing from some corner.
It's the third time that I look
behind this pillow!
And, unlike your glasses,
it is never on your head.


@verse by MR

(Next time, look for something you've removed, like a gown or jacket. It's in the pocket, I guarantee you.)