Kareem Tayyar: On Queshm Island, Iran

Last night I saw you in the Valley of Stars.

“Ghost country”, you called it,

As you floated through the rock formations like a prophet in love with the loss of gravity,

Or a poet seeking a vanished metaphor.

When I asked if you knew the name of the star whose fall to earth had created this miracle,

You smiled and said the name of your favorite poet,

Once,

And then a second time,

Before vanishing.

Copyright 2017 Kareem Tayyar