Journey In Progress

Khan El-Khalil Market, Cairo

Our eyes meet...

Yours questioning,

Projecting intimations of beauty,

From behind the narrow slits of your burka.

Our eyes meet...

Yours pleading,

Teenage melancholy and ennui,

A turbulent and restive visage.

Our eyes meet...

Yours decidedly annoyed,

Balancing plastic neon pails on a wooden cart,

I am in your way.

Our eyes meet...

Some gentle, some curious,

Some incensed by my audacity,

Clicking away at my cell phone.

Kaleidoscopic scarves,

Mortar and pestles,

Roasted corn on a stick,

Cumin and coriander,

Marjoram and wisteria,

Hedged in wicker baskets

Balanced evenly on donkey spines.

Our eyes meet...

As I hand over coins for spices,

Touching the leathery palm of your hand,

The crisp and pungent scent of jasmine,

Stirring and confirming,

Our intimate, yet transcendent,