La Kalima
Like swallows they return each year
their vermilion scarves stirring
in the relentless,
their vermilion scarves stirring
in the relentless,
oppressive, scalding Siroccos.
They come amber scented
from Tunisia
the hems of their lilac kaftans
fluttering in Zephyr's
white-hot breath.
from Tunisia
the hems of their lilac kaftans
fluttering in Zephyr's
white-hot breath.
They come from Kashmir
with mehndi stained hands and feet,
physical graffiti,
their silk saris whispering raginis
pitched to sultry winds.
They come from Cairo
their kohl eyes
searching the bazaar
for the delicate spider web lace,
the rondels woven by
needle pricked fingers.
They come from Andalusia
with jessamine and geranium
pinned into the lustrous ripples
of their burnished ebony hair
They come and they go
to return each year like swallows.
- Sharmagne Leland- St. John 2013
(Prize winner Ina Coolbrith 86th Annual Poets Dinner Berkeley)
7 time Pushcart Prize nominee, Native American poet, concert performer, lyricist, artist, film maker, Editor-in-Chief Quill and Parchment.com
Widely anthologised. Published 4 poetry collections Co-authored Designing Movies: Portrait of a Hollywood Artis.t Co-editor of Cradle Songs: An Anthology of Poems on Motherhood (winner of the 2013 International Book Award)
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