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Leaf from the 5 Surahs
Unidentified Artist
Jala’irid Dynasty
Probably Baghdad Iraqi
“Leaf from the 5 Surahs”
Qur’anic Album
c. 1370
ink & gold on paper
loud distance arrives an ancient hush
sharp as it is still
before we pressed our lines in ink
we pressed the soaring bird to feather
a straight smooth hand
points sharp to prove a paper page
to keep the mark maker beyond
their bounds finds a shape
of a still sweeping sight
in the eye of a mind
wrapped in words wrapped
round an eye standing
like strokes to sail
in the silver of the air
in the frame of flowing winds
in the breath of breathless words
on the trust of flightless feathers
the crinkled past unfolds to fill
a dance of reverent celebration
