a taxi driver tells me
the warehouse where he sleeps
smells of doughnut fried with olive oil
his wife gave him a grey blanket
and a broken mirror
from where he sees every passenger as a gerenuk
this is how i know it isn’t a dream my shadows
are a reflection of germander from a pool
he says the best gift he sends home is fire extinguisher
we have this in common no one believes we should lead
the prayers in a borrowed tongue
we say ka when we meant kha from the epiglottis
everything has it edges, the edges of the earth are buried in water
i tell him square is the shape of freedom
but the driver thinks it’s a circle and it depends
on how far you are from the center
i followed him to the space where he lives
i saw how the sky
blankets the moon light when the sun is up
his children make cotton candy off their mother’s gown.