for Bardia Sina’ei

alas, who was the third one weeping?
I thought we were only two!
—Hossein Panahi

boo is smell
but boo is also in boodan
which is “to be”

like the phrase
be toe boodan
“to be without you”
but the persian be
means without
be toe
“without you”

the boo in boodan
akin to english Be

to be

but the persian to
means “Inside” or “In”
and the persian In
means “this”

to be
is illegible
but be-to
means “No Insides” or “empty”

to be be-to
to be “empty” “endless”

to be be-boo
to be odourless
to be two beings
to be into be-to beings
people hollowed out
in two
“Right Here”

be toe
be you
without you
longing to be-longing
where loss is a “flirt”
and law is “between”
man and ma(w)
but
longing to “no”-longing
to be into beings
“right here”
without you
you flirt
you husky man
where man is “me”
be toe as in man
“without you” as in “me”
as in
the crux “of this” translation

be toe man as in […]
a “toe-less” man [fled] “off of this” [sentence]

I is a noise I make without you
instead of “ouch”
notice the “ch” in both
‘ouch’ and ‘ache’
like a german “Ich”
but in no way related
we can all proclaim ourselves in pain

I am man
an existent “me”, aching
 
as man be toe
“from me to you”
man to toe
me in you
toe be man
you be me
you without me

now share
this “Poem”
 
share a man
is “my poem”
that I wrote for me
for myself
for a man
as man
as you

I = am
flipped to ma(w)
this is “Us” now
 
man toe ma(w)
me
you
and our teeth
fading into the void between
man vs ma(w)

teeth
locked into a jaw
which is a “place” of its own
in jaw
“this place”
be jaw
“without place”
“exiled?”

man o toe in jaw
“me and you, here”
me and you
connected by an O

add another O
and it becomes OO
third person
genderless
 
man
o
toe

me
and
you
 
man
o
toe
o
oo

me
and you
and a third person

genderless [(pro)-]noun

Khashayar Mohammadi is a queer, Iranian-born, Toronto-based poet, writer, and translator.

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