MUSTAFA ZIYALAN

Blues everywhere
in the Turkish bath
hearing an ex lover
playing Coltrane
or the faithful voice
of your best unselfish
high school friend
serving you halva
and dark coffee
on a ship and falling
overboard after losing
in backgammon
tired of the easy bigotry
of a millennium
pledging to be refreshed
on your birthday
by new experiences
in a dance and seance
from a hot belly dancer
named Salome.