In Kitchener Jamatkhana, 1976 by Ayaz Pirani

Poem name: In Kitchener Jamatkhana, 1976  Poet Name: Ayaz Pirani Poem begins: I got to know the carpet by individual thread.  Some went against the grain, most were seaward.  I was shy in my socks, black and formal  that put me in my dad’s shoes. Pant cuffs, I learned, show  what you’ve been through. Some kids had it easy  and sat single-mindedly. Others were chopped trees.  I liked it when my hands displayed human joy or dog’s sleep.  At the tasbih’s fumko the promise was knot. .End of poem. Credits: Copyright © Ayaz Pirani  Forthcoming in How Beautiful People Are (Gordon Hill Press, Spring 2022).  Ayaz’s books include Happy You Are Here (The Word Works, 2016), Kabir’s Jacket Has a Thousand Pockets (Mawenzi House, 2019) and Bachelor of Art (Anstruther Press, 2020). His work recently appeared in The Malahat Review, ARC Poetry Magazine and The Antigonish Review. A new book is forthcoming from Gordon Hill Press.