Esmail….          
     For Esmail Khoi (Iranian poet in exile)

I am talking to you Esmail.
When was the last time you had a sip
From the Caspian Sea,
For dreams to come through?

When was the last time
Your heavy shoulders
Warmed up with dreams
While walking across Persepolis?

Tell me Esmail,
When was the last time
Your laughter splashed on your poems,
On those cruel, lonely days?

Did I see you crying, quietly?
Walking across King’s Cross
Remembering your country
And the ones you left behind?

Tell me Esmail,
Your heart could not take
Loveless, loneliness, in search
Of a love that feels your empty palms.

Tell me Esmail your heart could not
Tolerate life without
Back to back, cup to cup, feast of drink,
When you lost all the loves you had, back to back.

Where is this road ending Esmail?
Read me your longest poem
In short moments left for us…..