The sky today is a sea-lane

busy with the ships of passing

clouds

whose decks are masted

with sunbeams draped in

diaphanous sails

The city’s domes are the islands

of this sea

where everyone is busy

risking it all:

see that blackbird swimming,

that eagle

    diving in…

There is no contest of power

here: no battleship fleets or flags;

no submarines creeping on the

seabed; no rockets or cannons

And, though, every element

here is bursting with charge—

just look how peaceful

these bustling waters are

Samarkand, 1978