Rumi Dancing w/ Kangaroos

Cultural cringe doesn’t frighten me at all.
Kangaroos don’t frighten me at all.
The bush doesn’t frighten me at all.
Oh, kangaroos! I want to give you
a rose of my dreams.
Oh, kangaroos! I want you to dance w/ me.
Let’s dance in round swirls till madness!
Let’s ascend the sky!
Let’s write a new historiography of the bush!
Let’s swap trees!
I give you a palm tree,
& you give me a eucalyptus.
Weapons are not allowed here.
Let’s erase fear and cringe!
Oh, kangaroos! The bush is not the ultimate utopia.
Let’s dance together in frenzy-like swirls!
Let’s forget about differences & geography!
Let’s ascend the sky!
I’ll teach you Sufism, & you’ll teach me jumping.
I think Sufism and jumping are two interchangeable terms
helping us renew, & gain new foliage.


Ali Znaidi (Tunisia)