being

asked
me could i
do more could i
spell my words
with breaths instead
this time
move a dream with my mouth
letters like lips tongue teeth cheeks and gums
asked me what word
does that spell and tell me
how it sounds will you
tell me how it’s pronounced

asked me could
i let a thought make sound
could i let these sounds disintegrate
into the air around me let these sounds
integrate with the air around me
change an atmosphere asked me
what have you been breathing and
tell me are you dizzy

asked me
could i move when i pray did
i know i moved when i prayed
how long will it take and
won’t i keep moving and
what if i stopped

asked me could i
treat a word like fruit
after a day of fasting
see it as iftaar
could i remember hearing a word like that
could i say a word
like that

asked me could
i fast until i
became light could i
see everything then
delirium and ecstasy could
i learn how to see both and between and beyond
be both and between and beyond
could i find it like patience

asked me
could i speak essential
and what did i speak before that
became ceiling for me
when i sought the sky asked me
could i speak past that

asked me could i answer
and i asked myself
an answer and it
sounded like your name
and everything i could