Table of Contents
i.
Nereid Speaking 1
Lorca at the Edge of the Sea 2
First Night in the New House 3
Before Dawn 4
Elemental 5
Cicatrix 6
Not an Apple, Only Blossoms 8
Cacophony of Bells: The Origin of Disquiet 9
Lullaby for Goya 10
The Cost of Forgiving 11
ii.
Abida 15
Eve, Eve, and Adam…Nowhere 17
From the Hours of Forgiveness 18
Double Edge of Scimitar 19
Before the Wedding Party 20
Becoming Prodigal 21
The Truth Inside Postcards 23
Leonid Shower Above 360 Overlook 24
Kali 26
Habibi: Beloved 27
Holy Land 28
Tutankhamon’s Nurse 29
American Flag as Pardah 31
Blue Girl 32
iii.
The culmination of Icarus’s life: 35
Datura 36
Eleusis 37
Alone in the Cadaver Lab 38
Argument 39
Hatter madder maddest, 40
Birthright 41
Escape Artist 42
Stitches in Rib 43
Orchard in the Texas Sun: 44
Karkadeh 45
Without Freud 46
iv.
Girl Friend: Saheli 49
Ophelia’s Ghost 50
St. Agnes Eve 51
Your Way of Apology 52
Dryad Unsung 53
Port Lavaca, Texas 54
Muse 56
Cairo Palace Café—Houston, Texas 57
To learn patience, 58
Lakeshore Boulevard: Chicago by Night 60
Nag’s Head, North Carolina 61
v.
Flowers for the Dead 65
Ariadne’s Dream 66
Vandalized at the Graveyard Edge, Seraph 67
Gingerbread Girl 68
Changeling in the Fire 69
Heliophobia 70
Sleeping Beauty 71
Shadows for Emily 72
Cat O’ Nine Tails 73
Asylum 74
Hocico 76
Chaand Raat: Eid ul Fitr 77