But when is around town when
I live très isolée? Am I
out of the loop or breaking out
of here? Remember, I can still see
the peaceable kingdom on widescreen
evenings and the chanai stalls promoting
Egypt on their window displays.
When do I have to start worrying?
When I have to start building walls
in front as well as at the back
of my house? Or when I can tear
down my iron fence and replace it
with pickets? Which I will repaint
white for the happiness conceit
for which I will ask permission
not from nature but from the nods
or otherwise of close neighbours.
Watch me miss my mark and strike
white the red earth.
But still these are oblique concerns
of mini-DV close-ups. Dull. I’ve
forgotten Kiarostami’s misgivings
and shot ahead when what I really
want is a wide angle and a new tripod
for my ego. It’s like at the end of Taste
of Cherry, when no one knows if it’s real
or an approximation
of magic.
Divagyrations 