the magician

the night, it's a happy magician
and the moon
a beautiful young woman under its black saw
divided into two equal halves

have no doubt that the stars always return to their birthplace:
black holes in space

in case you didn't know
a crow that's died
has had no knowledge of the speed of light
if it did
it would return unaware
toward these same houses
above these same branches
and let out
its unlucky songs of love
for the last survivors of the world

Leila Farjami
from the collection A River Running Through the Moon