POETRY: Something to Do With A Man Named Joseph *
Mustafa Paul Bergner
Posted Feb 26, 2007 •Permalink • Printer-Friendly VersionSomething to Do With A Man Named Joseph
Mustafa Paul Bergner
The one who could describe
the depth of the darkness
of my forgetfulness
could also describe this loving
in which I am no longer me
but am only “loving”.
The aroma of wine.
The simplicity of light.
Its pervasiveness.
Under that light
I carry my father’s condemnation
of the opinions of others.
If I could only let that go
my huffy need to be right.
‘This is nothing that I’m writing.
Nothing.
But it has something to do with a man named Joseph
who came to my door one day
sixteen years ago
- out of nowhere -
to explain for me
the meaning of
La ilalla iIIa’IIah.
Originally published in the print edition of The American Muslim Summer/Fall 1994
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