When I am asleep and dreaming of the seven kings
When I am asleep and dreaming of the seven kings
When I am asleep and dreaming of the seven kings
-with the violets in my hair and the tulips in my heart-
a kiss on top of the lips of those flower blades
offers you entrance into the velvet migration
of my dreams and for that golden instant
when all turns to the honeyed hush
that enfolds us in this blanket of serenity
I reach for your sleeping hand
smile
and know all that is right
within our tiny universe.
- Sheema Kalbasi & Roger Humes
The Ebbing Of the Seasons
She stares at the pale-blue sky washed
nearly white through the eyes that are covered
with the tears of the dew within her heart
where she can hear a voice in harmony
with hers, the lyrics joined,
wrapped deep deep in a love-blanket,
she assumed would always be there.
The blanket of those thoughts swaddles
her heart in the warmth of memory
where for an instant the chill of loss
is soothed within the numbness
that perhaps shall always haunt her days
while another stares at the same pale-blue sky
nearly white through eyes that are filled
with the thoughts of one who is gone and of one
who is so far away and of how all moments
are short, far too short for one
who can now hear a voice in harmony
with hers, the hearts beating as one,
the lyrics joined, the immorality
wrapped deep deep within the love
whose blanket she does hope
will be mapped by her name.
And within the laughter that enfolds
her heart in the warmth of today
for an instant she is caught up
in the young arms of unconditional love
where she can let go and accept the fate
for which she would have never desired
while another stares at the pale-blue sky
nearly white through eyes that are filled
with the emotions of loss that cannot touch
him and yet can never be separated
forevermore from the depths of his life
as he listens to a voice in harmony
with his, and though the hearts never did beat as one
and the lyrics are now long forgotten, the melody is forever
caught deep deep within his bones and blood
which he will carry as a badge of bereavement
until his days turn to the final dark
while together all three stare at the pale-blue sky
where they continue the age-old ritual
of completing each other's thoughts
and sentences while the first one journeys through the winter,
the second resides in the spring, and the third is lost
among the days of summer - together they stand
now on the doorstep of autumn where wedded
as the souls of acceptance they watch
the ebbing of the seasons as they are joined
by the saddest
and the deepest of all human truths.
- Sheema Kalbasi & Roger Humes
We Begin When We Are Sad
We begin when we are sad
and disconnected from the world,
when all we can express is inadequate
to explain the darkness that gnaws
to the bone our isolated hearts,
when the spark that drives us
is the only song
in the gloom of the moment.
We journey then through
the tear-filled valley of our souls,
disregarding the rains of passion
that mire our feet in despair,
disregarding the mud of anguish
that cakes us when we must crawl up
the slope of grief and torment
along the passageway of creation.
We look straightforward, resolute,
unable to glance side to side
lest our feet stray from the appointed
path of our self-imposed exile,
ignoring the possibilities for the joy
we pass along the way,
ignoring the wonders that might
cause another to pause and reflect.
It is a journey not to attain excellence,
it is a journey not to garner awards or praise.
It is a journey to merely record
in such an honest fashion
that another can view our poems and say
"Yes, I have been there; yes, now I understand"
And when we have finished
we arrive home to warm the chill of our thoughts
by the fireplace of our loved ones' care
until the time when we once again find
that we are sad and disconnected from the world.
- Sheema Kalabasi & Roger Humes
These are the final poems co-written by Sheema Kalabsi and Roger Humes that will appear in Seeker. In a period of two years Sheema and Roger have produced over sixty poems written in a unique voice that combines some of the best aspects of Iranian and Western poetics. However, the poets have decided to cease writing together to pursue their individual poetry and possibly work with other artists. Sheema and Roger will continue to work together as co-directors of The Other Voices International Project and The Dialogue of Nations Through Translations in Poetry: