Mosque Hopping by Nofel

October 20, 2022
Poem name: Mosque Hopping Poet name: Nofel Poem: For Ahmed “And said: Shall we forsake our gods for a mad poet?” The Quran 37:36 Our love, a surah. I dug Arabic calligraphy out of your eyes at eventide in Ramadan. You ruptured my fingers and inked them onto the Quran. I caressed your foot with my foot on all the prayer rugs, lest the hearts differ. You were every heartbeat at the mosque. I picked dried petals from God’s hand the first time we knelt together. You were every tear I didn’t shed in prayer. I clutched onto each fluttering letter on your tongue. You broke each hunger with kissing my palm’s dusk. End of poem. Credits and bio: Copyright © Nofel Nofel (æèáä) is a Montréal based poet and essayist, writing in English and Arabic. His poems and essays have most recently appeared in The Puritan, Plenitude Magazine, and Canadian Notes and Queries, among other publications. Nofel is currently learning French and simultaneously working on poetry and nonfiction manuscripts. He was longlisted for the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize. You can reach him @ nofelsheleeg@gmail.com