We sit separated from each other
Our bodies at least two meters apart
Yet the spirit within us
Unable to distance what’s in our hearts

The dance of the dark god
All around the world
Each morning he wakes up
And decides to give it a twirl

He shifts and he gyrates
To the beat of humanity’s drum
The skin so tightly held in place
A trampoline thrum

He laughs at our ten thousand sins
Forgives them with our death
Covers the bodies of those
After they lose their breath

He administers our karma
Pulsating sweaty red
We take it like good children
In parental dread

For we have all been defiant
Disobedient impolite
We thought we possessed more
Power immortal might

We told the waves to fuck off
Until tsunamis raged
We killed and crushed the defenseless
And turned around and blamed

Everything besides what we do
Everything and god
Felling trees and building towers
We don’t stop to find it odd

So Shiva danced the Lindy
He danced dinga linga ling
He knocked us against each other
To learn a thing or two

How much will our pride betray us
Where does desire end
How long before our gluttony
Brings about amends

The god of destruction
Converses with us still
Spinning plié tango
Bring it on at will

So there is more to come
Unless we behave
Unless we decide
Our power lies in praying

Unless we stop providing
Shiva with a tune
Unless we love each other
(It can’t come too soon)

He only dances if
There’s room to destroy
Brahma is the creator
Possessor of joy

They have these daily meetings
Notes stuck over tracts of land
Here is where to dance next
Here is where to stand

Wait for my signal
One tells the other
Shiva Brahma talking
Coworkers and brothers

Our part is so vital
Our contribution will define
The future of our children
Not just yours and mine

But also cubs born to lions
Seedlings in silent mud
The air through which birds sail
Forest fired wood

A wind that blows the answer
The symphony of rain
Gentle with its rhythm
So Shiva can remain

Up between the clouds
Clean happy calm
His feet not itching
To dance down our harm

He sees the world alive
His rest is earned only
Because we realise
Distance makes us lonely

Dubai, March 2020