Amour

Oh, little black-eyed dog!
How do you want to turn this big world
Into that of your own?

You sniff every shrub
And rub up to every shin
And fill your little nose
With unknown scents.

You stop at the intersection,
Listen to the chaos of cars
And then refuse to move.

I see myself in you
Since I first stood on my feet
And, in search for a meaning of the world,
Took into my ears unknown words.

I am sitting here alone
For a long time.
Someone pulls my collar
And says: “amour! Amour!”
But  I listen with dropped ears
To the chaos of the world.

Majid Naficy
March 24, 1997