Poem by Anis Mojgani
November 1, 2022
Little heart,
sweet little heart. You do not need to thrush so, no need to loud song yourself
from under the brush. Sweet winged self sit softly. You do not need to thrash.
Someone else will come along, who will not take your feathers in their lust
for your flight. Who will not clip wings & call it a letting go. I know you wish
for others to embrace sky, to share that sky. But you can only point at it & show
how your heavy feet are trying too, to lift. You can only offer water little heart,
not thirst. Someone else will drink, and without taking. Others already do. Little
heart. How loved you are, in ways you forget or do not see, eyeless & beautiful,
you make your way still through. Oh little heart. That I could lift you from out
my chest, hold you safe in my palms, let you know how safe & already loved
you are, touch the wanting you want so much to give away to others, kiss you,
& set you down gently back into my own being. Oh little heart. It is morning.
There is no need for dreaming. Lead me, tell me where to follow you, & I will.
Anis Mojgani, orginally from New Orleans, is the current Poet Laureate of Oregon, where he currently resides. A two-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam, Anis has done commissions for the Getty Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, the Oregon Parks Department, and the Portland Timbers. His work has appeared on HBO and National Public Radio and in publications such as The New York Times, Rattle, Platypus, Winter Tangerine, Forklift Ohio, and Bat City Review. The author of five books of poetry, an opera libretto, and a forthcoming picture book, his latest poetry collection, The Tigers, They Let Me, comes out in March 2023.
Photo by Tristan Paiige
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