Kilimanjaro

Ayaz Pirani

The mother-in-law fills the water while the daughter-in-law enjoys her meal. Mother and daughter call each other co-wife. Brothers fight, mistaken for bulls. Two kinds of clouds hover in Kilimanjaro. A cow gives birth to two calves. This army gets water, that army gets mud. Some carry three-edged swords. Oceans are weighed in drops. Grains are sold by counting them.

Ayaz Pirani’s books include Happy You Are Here (The Word Works, 2016), Kabir’s Jacket Has a Thousand Pockets (Mawenzi House, 2019) and Bachelor of Art (Anstruther Press, 2020). His work recently appeared in The Malahat Review, ARC Poetry Magazine and The Antigonish Review. He lives near Monterey, California.