Dervish Weaponry

On our wedding night
I gave you dervish feet full of holes and wide eyes
This, everyone noticed

Alone, I gave you a lower lip
Vanished inside your celibate mouth
In a far corner of Little Istanbul

When we turned to sleep
Breathed Al Fatiha
I wiped your face with my prayer

Please, remove this body from the passage
Please, take this tongue from my mouth
This heart contains all the senses one could ever need

Yes, I am heart-supple
But I had never been carved into those positions
At times with breath alone

My whole body became bruised
From our thick red Rifa’i night
El Hamdullillah, let’s live in that tavern!

When I left it was early morning through the shades
Your sweat on the pillow, neck wet and pink
Silk brown hair stuck at the temples

A bit of sweet chest exposed
Above the sheet, your edge of hand
Like a sword

DERVISH WEAPONRY . DERVIS SILAHI
From the CD The Memorists (© 2008 Mother Tongue Media)
Tanya Evanson – poetry, English & Turkish spoken word
Goksel Baktagir - Zither