strawberries?
all she knows
of spring desire

Published by

Ali Znaidi

Ali Znaidi (b.1977) lives in Redeyef, Tunisia. He is the author of several chapbooks, including Experimental Ruminations (Fowlpox Press, 2012), Moon?s Cloth Embroidered with Poems (Origami Poems Project, 2012), Bye, Donna Summer! (Fowlpox Press, 2014), Taste of the Edge (Kind of a Hurricane Press, 2014), and Mathemaku x5 (Spacecraft Press, 2015). For more, visit aliznaidi.blogspot.com.

8 thoughts on “”

  2. Ali, congratulations on your first publication on Tinywords. And what an excellent, complex poem to debut here with. This deceptively simple observation has opened a deep seam of recollections, reflections, and lived emotions.

    The parent in me recalls many years ago, my own daughter in her childish exuberance, smiling mouth stained from eating strawberries. But "spring desire" – ah, that phrase. This verse has now turned into a "coming of age" poem. And the powerful verb at the end of the second line has strong Biblical allusions – of "knowing" in a physical union. I am left with a wabi sense of melancholy as I reflect on the loss of innocence. Now strawberry staining can infer much more, and not just pleasure.

    Reflecting too, Ali, on your Tunisian background, I see veiled girls and women and another interpretation of "all she knows" becomes possible.

    Such a moving poem. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I hope we will be exploring more of your poetry here in future.

    Strider

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  4. It reminds me of my own childhood, and collecting wild strawberries, sitting among the tall grasses and woods for hours and just feeling happy and good.

    Lovely haiku.

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  5. Congrats Ali. I am so happy to seeing you with such an astounding erotic piece. Had to read it over and over again my creative friend
    –Adjei Agyei-Baah

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