The Pale Man

An ember lit up the pale man’s face. After a drag, he hissed the smoke back into the atmosphere. The pale man flicked the cigarette onto the street, red sparks dancing on the ground.

“That’ll kill you someday,” a voice growled from the darkness.

“Gotta die somehow,” the pale man replied.

Medinine (Regional?) Library

Silently swirling
Mixing with student
Their homework math
This poem my own

Escape!

I had almost made it.

The Warden had dozed off in his chair again and I had to take the chance. I had spent hours upon hours, days upon days, chipping, rubbing, wiggling, and otherwise accelerating entropy in the joints, anchors, and locking mechanism of my cell door. The effort was the only thing keeping me sane and, now that the opportunity presented itself, I had to make use of it.

Taking the door off its hinges had been relatively straightforward. What squeaks and thuds the process caused didn’t wake the Warden, inshallah. I approached his little booth in the center of the cells and worked my way in. Quietly, oh so quietly I relieved him of his keys and unlocked the trap door.

The Warden’s booth sat in the center of a dozen cells in a classic panopticon. Prisoners in those cells had a wonderful view of the city from twelve stories up; to exit out the window meant certain death. the panopticon design was a stroke of genius - one guard could watch many prisoners if they never knew exactly when he was watching them through the shaded glass. Unfortunately for the guards and fortunately for the prisoners, the Warden snored.

Bibliotheque National Tunis

Pushing and shoving and
Massive line cutting
"Knowing" your needs better than you
Dirty streets (with delicious eats)
And yelling nonstop
Is just how these Arabs do

Library of Alexandria

Busy road, busy day
From Cairo we raced away
Alexandria at the end
Merely for this poem to pen

Greater Cairo Public Library

I wish I had some gum right now
On which I could be chewing
A small distraction for my mouth
While my mind is brewing
My focus now: a million things
Wants and needs be done
Mastication might slow me down
And allow a moment's fun

Library near Rainbow Road

A shovel full of hummus
And olives bowl by bowl
If I’m not careful
I won’t walk; I’ll roll

Fifty dinars postage
What a dumb thing to do
There’s a dozen cheaper ways
To send fifty “I love you”s

Library near Hashemite Square

Hustle and Bustle
No rest for thee
We must keep moving
There’re ruins to see

Dirty Dingy Dusty Jordan
What an increase in mental load
To wonder what new horror awaits
When next I visit the commode

---

One of the greatest sights so far
A desert night and lots of stars
The moon throwing me a crescent smile
And Saturn, Jupiter, Venus in single file
With that sight a pleasant sound
Silence! By God, there’s no one around

Batumi, Briefly

Braindead in Batumi
Functions depressed
Struggle each morning
Just to get dressed

Half hungry half tired
Unsure of my needs
Brain dredges up
Forgotten misdeeds

Construction Complaints

“Quit your bellyachin!” Big John scolded the crew of seven. “I won’t stand for it.”

A whisper made its way into one of the crew’s ears about how few things Big John - a euphemism, as calling him ‘Fat John’ was grounds for dismissal - would stand for. The man into whose ear this sentiment was whispered snickered involuntarily.

“Who’s cracking jokes? I should dock all your pay.” At that there came a chorus of ‘fuck yous’ and miscellaneous grumbling. After a moment, one of the crew spoke up.