Drone
Geese are flying
in perfect formation
when a drone appears.
If technology is an extension
of our bodies, as McLuhan says,
chaos is the extension
of the disturbance our technologies
cause in nature.
Taking the drone as a member
of their flock, the geese struggle
to get in formation
with its agitation,
their erratic flight and wild
honks, deranging the sky.
Their bewilderment grows
each time the drone changes
direction and speed,
whizzing with a different
frequency, leading them on
to no destination.
Succumb
Today, for his profile photo
he posted a slightly open French window
with ivy railings in the desert city of Yazd.
Behind the glass, two red candles
stand close to one another
each in a different pane.
Imagining this window the whole day
she pictures a bed
on the other side
holding together the bodies
of a man and a woman
who have finally met in real life.
This picture lures her
to climb over the virtual railings
push open the ajar window
and light the red candles
as day
succumbs to night.
Nilofar Shidmher, was born and raised in Iran and currently lives in Canada. A Ph.D., MFA, she is the author of two collections of short fiction and four books of poetry in English and Farsi. She also co-translated with Ali Azarang Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye into Farsi. Dr. Shidmehr teaches in the Liberal Arts Program and Adults 55+ program at Simon Fraser University.