Written by Arash Allahverdi 
Translated by Alireza Taheri Araghi
Edited by Drew Kalbach
Illustrated by Sahar Salehzadeh
Read by Peter Twal 

Published 2/7/2013

Art by Sahar Salehzadeh

there is blood coming
blood
is
coming
blood is coming with a stranger
blood is coming in a cab
blood is coming with a loose woman
the loose woman and the blood are approaching my eye
I stare at the voluminous member of the blood
blood whispers to the woman
the loose woman bends into my eyes and forces her nipple
her nipple into my mouth
blood takes the woman’s hand
and drags

and takes her away
her head emerges from my mouth and teeth
slimy
the woman and blood go home
his body dripping with my saliva
blood comes out
blood is something between shame and fury
blood sends the loose woman home in a taxi
blood looks at me
I soil myself
blood pinches his nose
and rushes out of his eye

blood drips on his own face
blood wipes his face
blood looks in the mirror
“it’s just blood” he tells himself
I realize the loose woman hasn’t been able to satisfy blood
blood sits
exerts himself
wrinkles his eye and forehead
brings out blood
and holds a drop of himself in his hand
a drop that turns into “another blood”
another kin blood
blood and “another kin blood” go into my room

blood sticks his head out of the door
I mean our good friend blood
and approaches my eyes and says open your eyes a little, moron
the intellectual blood, his pressure goes up
leaves the blood
blood is throwing up
blood
the blood of madness
goes back in again
keeps cool
buries himself in blood’s warm arms
as if blood is taking it

his sound is coming
it’s as if blood is shitting
as if blood is dying giving birth
no
it becomes silent
as if blood gets well
blood is putting on his pants
gets out of the house
with “another blood” who has his pants already on
bloods who get out of the house
bloods who get out of the house
bloods who look out of the house

bloods who take the subway
bloods who mistake someone for Walter Benjamin on the subway
bloods who stick to Walter Benjamin
bloods who watch the commercials
bloods who have been robbed on the subway
bloods who have gone to the station and said Walter Benjamin have robbed them
bloods of madness
bloods of philosophy
bloods of depression
bloods of unemployment
bloods of indifference
bloods of anemia

little
less
I have dreamed these
I know nothing else

blood
is coming alone
blood is coming on foot
blood his head is spinning
I take him in my arms
blood implores closer and closer to my eyes
I bend over
and he drinks blood from my breast
blood is going
blood
is
going
blood
is
going from here

 

Listen to this poem:

 
 

Arash Allahverdi was born in 1983 in Shiraz. He started writing poetry at the age of fifteen. His first book, Fury, was published in an electronic format in 2007. His second book, The Book of the Blood, was planned to be published in 2010, but it failed to obtain a publication license. As a result it was published as an ebook in the following year. He publishes some of his poems on his weblog. He edits a website dedicated to contemporary Persian poetry (www.matrod.org). (Updated Feb. 2013)

Sahar Salehzadeh was born in 1986. She has a degree in graphic design. (Updated Feb. 2013)

Drew Kalbach is from Philadelphia. He is the author of some things on the Internet. Follow him on Twitter: @drewkalbach. (Updated Feb. 2013)

Peter Twal is both a writer and electrical engineer. After completing his undergraduate degree, he found himself programming software aboard countless ships, despite being certain that just watching Titanic made him seasick as a kid. He only sometimes gets dizzy writing poetry these days. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in NAP Magazine,smoking glue gun, and DIG Magazine. His chapbook, Sissyboy Bullshit and All of the Above can be found in plain china. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Notre Dame. (Updated Feb. 2013)