Long Days On Earth / Book II
HAYY IBN YAQZAN by Ibn Tufayl. Book-length poetic rendering from a prose translation of the Medieval Arab “novel” by court philosopher, Ibn Tufayl. Written in 1985.

Long Days On Earth / Book III
Third book in the sextet. Written in 1985–86.

The Ramadan Sonnets
Long Days On Earth / Book V
One or more poems written each day of the thirty days of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, from experiential to Sufically surreal and symbolic, or, as Coleman Barks says: “…a unique and very tasty series of fasting poems!” Written in 1986, published in 1996 by Jusoor/City Lights Books, and a revised edition republished by The Ecstatic Exchange, 2005.

The Perfect Orchestra
A book of poems considering the details of our universe and our bodies as orchestra, and that “the Book is everywhere / from which we pluck these roses…” Written in 1988.

A Maddening Disregard for the Passage of Time
A vast book, 182 pages in manuscript, “I’m struck by the desire to write a poem full of / mysterious things,” and perhaps my shortest poem: “The thing about beetles is: / Wherever they fall they keep walking.” Written 1989–90.

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Click on manuscripts or book covers to read poems. To read a note on poetry, click here.

Dates of Composition:
1985
1985-86
1986
1988
1989-90