Not Yet

 Not Yet

A Modern Tanka by Ali Znaidi

A Modern Tanka by Ali Znaidi

Halloween party

is over.

Ants’ eyes glitter

through a punctured balloon.

—A used pumpkin.

Written 01/11/2014

Worm in the Bookshop by Ali Znaidi

Worm in the Bookshop

(after “Witch in the Supermarket” by Angela Topping)

There’s a worm in the bookshop over there.

She is creeping up the books searching for a lair.

She likes to hide because she doesn’t like to be used as a bait.

She is always hiding. That’s her inevitable fate.

There’s a worm in the bookshop down the street.

She is very cautious not to be trodden by the clients’ feet.

She is climbing the bookshelves searching for a refuge.

She is very astounded with all those books – tiny or huge.

There’s a worm in the bookshop next to the pub.

She is searching in the books for some hearty grub.

She is searching for nectar to quench her thirst

because for her knowledge always comes first.

Narratives will go with the wind and perish,

if writers don’t write and publishers don’t publish.

Books combat the oblivion of time’s rust;

either alive in a reader’s hand(s) or buried in a shelf’s dust.

There’s a worm in the bookshop in the city center.

She is hiding from the public glare— the eyes of the hunter.

There’s a worm in the bookshop. See! She’s devouring a book

because she likes to be considered as an intellectual (angry) kook.

Written 22 12 2013

Acned Discourse: An Experimental Short-short Story by Ali Znaidi

Acned Discourse: An Experimental Short-short Story by Ali Znaidi

Acned Discourse

________________________________________________. ___________________! ________________________? ……/……/……/…/………/………/…. __________. & the

decapitated discourse still oozes from the blocked pores of the tongues.

Written 21 12 2012

Untitled: A Nano Story by Ali Znaidi

Untitled: A Nano Story by Ali Znaidi

The thick snow looks like mayonnaise. Swallowing the pedestrians’ feet, it becomes a frigid cannibal. But, what a carnival!

26 02 2014

Euphoria: A Nano Story by Ali Znaidi

Euphoria: A Nano Story by Ali Znaidi

She would prefer not to plan splendid things because she is living in a garden of marvels right now.

26 02 2014

Tunisian Desert by Ali Znaidi

Tunisian Desert

Sand soaked

in sleek satin.

Touching it

resembles

kissing

the soft

cheek

of a blonde.

Kissing it—

a paradise

unraveled/

Satan

expelled.

Written 03 03 2013 Revised 23/09/2013