THREE BROTHERS ⋅ A NEW GOD ⋅ CITY OF SALT ⋅ LAKE OF DREAMS ⋅ SUSPENDED! ⋅ THE TWO STREETS ⋅ ON THE EDGE OF THE MARSHS ⋅ BLACKSUN ⋅ DEMON ⋅ GAZELLE ⋅ THE HARDRIIM ⋅ RIDER ⋅ THE FLYER ⋅ ARABIAN NIGHTS ⋅ THE EMPTY MIRROR ⋅ THE SOLDIER ⋅ THE BICYCLE ⋅ THE CROCODILE ⋅ THE THREE TRAVELERS ⋅ OCEANSONG ⋅ THE FLUTE ⋅ THE TREE ⋅ THE TOWER

Oh my beloved, the great marshes are abloom with wildflowers! Come, sweet one, let us tarry in the vast open chamber the sea of grass affords to us - for surely the prophet himself washed each delicate blade with the clear dew of his tears before he ascended to his throne atop the great blue-grey dome of morning! Let us linger over the sensual illusions of your dying kingdom one last time: “Tea leaves of the Caliphate; Omani peaches, Shami apples and Osmani quinces; cucumbers of Nile growth; Egyptian limes, Sultani oranges and citrons; blood red anemones; Yemeni violets, Ceylanese eglantine and Wahabi narcissus; dried henna flowers and Tihimah raisins; ostrich eggs and feathers; willow flower water and open work tarts; winter gilliflower honey, Lebanese lemon-loaves and Tyre soap cakes; Zaynab’s sweetcombs, musk scented fritters and Kazi tit-bits; loaves of Muscat sugar and pickled safflower; Tunisian olives and orange flower water; sweet creams from the milk of dromedary and oont; cakes of Persian sweetmeats and Alexandrine enfilade; myrrh-wax candles, a lump of Afghani male incense, Khazari ambergris, Algerian musk and hard Syrian cheese; aloe wood, sandlewood, and eaglewood; Ottoman cushat and merle of Zanzibar; gilded chamberlains and hearts of mameluke; Nubian apricots, kumquat of Bahrain, and even a pomegranate from the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Bagdad . . .” Your voice trailed off. A brace of egrets lifted themselves into the shimmering air and hung suspended in front of the blood red sun. Perhaps you were long dead, buried under the mud that lay beneath my bespangled slippers. The sky opened and you spoke to me from your perch on the high throne of the blue-grey dome: “Barbary assassins and suicide bombers; Iowan human shields; Nubian letter bombs and domain-enameled Migs; Copernicus elastomeres; asymetrical warfare scenarios and pre-emptive strike doctrines; penetrating execution systems, terminal threat ballistics and depleted firewalls; Van Eyk monitoring, Al-hussayn missiles, and peashooter ordnance; open source uranium; semiautomatic ground cover and deception hardware; dreadnought breeches, blunderbuss bombadiers, and dragoon blowpipes; autonomous refueling booms; embedded reporters; assault eschellons, bunker busters, antisweep devices and armorŠpiercing tracers; hard target kill potentials; high altitude jammers, early warning bouquet mines, and multiple threat emitter systems; cluster radiological drones and deployable doppler rockets; night observation devices, ceiling zero chatter, and world target mosaics; Mother of All Bombs . . .” Come, my beloved, let us return to the fluted damasks and enameled mosaics of our bedchamber by the old courtyard, let us linger on the carved wooden filigrees and arabesques that decorate its many doors and shutters, for I wish to see one last time your smooth youthful cheek upon the silken pillow, and your watery clear eyes as you stare beyond my moon-whited shoulder at the stars falling from the blue-blacked dome of night. -home-