Doubt

As he pondered,

& as he ruminated,

doubt came.

He saw Rumi

gazing at the pond.

Oh, what a mysticism

demystified by a cloud

of bats!

& bits of doubt

totally permeated

his mind:

Reality is only a

construct;

{a tract}

I must pierce my tongue

and see the difference, he

said to Rumi,

while he still

ruminated.

© 2017, Ali Znaidi

Originally published in International Poetry Review: VOL. XLII SPRING/FALL 2016 (double issue).[Print]