Perfectly parallel mirrors
for John T. Chalcraft

June 23, 2006
iranian.com

From "Let Me Tell You Where I've Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora", edited by Persis Karim, (University of Arkansas Press, May 1, 2006). Karim is on a U.S. book tour. See schedule.

Perfectly Parallel Mirrors

between two parallel mirrors
as if between two pasts

she stands unadorned
but for the strokes of history upon her flesh
blood sacrifice of dubious origins
tempestuous kisses
in tempestuous climates
and gouged chasms
upon her core

definition is always a precarious enterprise
in twilight -- blurring boundaries --

she hunts herself in a persistence of
mirrors and mirages and memories
the naked ambivalence of her breasts
painted
on the interminable canvas of her lineage
and the rebellion of her navel
reflected
on the shoulder blades of her past

between two mirrors
as if amidst intertwined forests of fable and history
the nations persistent in her kaleidoscopic womb

no fact ever verified
no reality ever substantiated
no truth ever proven

Comment

Upcoming readings with Persis Karim and contributing authors
* June 26, Cody's Books, Berkeley, (4th St), 7 pm
* June 29, Modern Times, San Francisco, 7:30 pm
* July 6, Book Passage, Corte Madera, 7pm
* July 11, Women and Children First Bookstore, Chicago, 7pm
* July 12, The Loft, Minneapolis, 7 pm

For more information see: PersisKarim.com