Inverted Ghazal

     for David Lehman

A mirror fuses false appearances;
(A mere few things in this world become one).

Amir, who drove me to Persepolis,
Insisted we speak English on the way.

A mirror used to translate language,
(i.e. dictionary) will get broken.

Ah mirror! Who’s the fairest of them all,
Since radiant Marzieh stopped singing?

A mirror: Urdu/Persian (vice/versa);
It figures Ghalib liked to read Hafez.

A “Mir” who married an old “Khavari”
Begat my Great, Great Grandmother Ezat.

A mirror to a mirror back-talks twice,
Flips meaning upside down, then right again.

Am I reared rude enough in the U.S.
To violate the sacred ghazal form?

A mirrored blue sea/sky in Genesis
Revealed the first rhyme of dichotomies.

A) Mirror-2 B) God-1 C)-0.
Which of the above matches your being?

Am: I, or You: You (the eternal split
Of object and subject in poetry).