The Floating Man

by Katharine Towers

In this experiment of Ibn-Sina, I must float
for as long as it takes to forget the sweating desert
and the sifting streets of Hamadan.

No part of me may touch another body part.
My hands are spread so wide, each finger
thinks it is the only finger in the world.

My head is shaved, lest a stray hair
tickle my ear, or remind me that I'm beautiful.
I must take care not to hear my own heart beating.

When the time comes, you will ask me
who on earth I am. Shall I say a man or a thought,
or a man thinking about deserts and cities?

Sky folds me in. I'm as lonely as a spent star
calling into the darkness. Now ask again.

(From The Floating Man by Katharine Towers, published by Picador