Saffron—
like nipples
touched the armpits of
dreams
traced her yellow aroma
to the sickness of love
covered the crutch
in tiny golden threads
still restless—
found her way
to the boiling water
and sipped the tea
brewed in Khorasan
glittered on the rice
offered to the guest
licking her foreign tongue
dreamed of intimacy
with crystal candles
travelled over stigma
listened to the odes
in her honour
and said nothing in return—
like a bashful flower of the desert
closed her corolla to innuendos
and left the symposium
She could not help
saffronizing
the roses and maple leaves
lost the freedom of stamens
and was packaged
for the consumption
of the exotic
She knew—
all along
that she was a lie—
that no colour could smell
so good
that she had to look
at her looks
and see the breaks
and the end of the sap
She had to be honest
But love
attacks beauty
with the mercy
of dreams
Bänoo Zan has published more than 120 poems, translations, biographies, and articles. Her book, The Song of Phoenix: Life and Works of Sylvia Plath, was reprinted in 2010. Two collections of her poems are to be released in 2016. She is the founder of Shab-e She’r (Poetry Night), the most diverse poetry reading and open mic series in Toronto.
