The Color of Faith
I have always been a fan of Mo’s work, his unique and completely original way of seeing the world. As expressed in his prose and poetry the vision is moving, quirky, funny and profound, sometimes all in the same sentence! With shades of Rumi but also with echoes of Simic and Kinnel and Whitman, Mo’s voice is continuing to emerge with this lovely second volume.
Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting For Stone
The Color of Faith
My neighbor is black, my boss white; the kid
who brings the paper in the morning is brown.
In our group of golfers, the accountant’s
short game and his long-iron shots are the best the surgeon piles up the highest score.
We talk about the weather a lot, about
the market, the Iraq War, habeas corpus
and I raise the issue of waterboarding
of uninsured widows, of homeless people
with troubled minds who could be helped.
When we golf, we do not talk about creation
or God, religion, or politics, for they are divisive
we are too old to change our opinions, to be
convinced man was created overnight
these issues are embedded into our minds.
Some of us are Democrats, some Republicans
a few independents; occasionally, I am invited
to the Bible study group on Thursday morning
I like the camaraderie; people are sincere
one gets emotional talking about Jesus.
A deep silence prevails when he says Jesus was white with blue eyes, long blond hair, a rarity in the Middle East. He singles me out: Look! Mo is from Persia, fair skin with a small nose; we leave unscathed, nobody changes his color, his faith.
Mo H. Saidi
14 January 2008