30 Aug Excerpt from Homeric Epic by Kazim Ali
people occupied with humble chores
I’m far from home and still not quite a strangerIn Homer I feel not lost not found really but at least a little bit knownThe town grows together with patterns—
the bearded bouncer does not proof me on the second night,
the crimson-silked hostess leads me to my regular seat,
the tattooed barista with the pierced tongue wants to flirt
just a little bit longer today
Though I plan to go into the forest my field guide is useless
and I didn’t buy bear spray as I was instructed
Now my friends are all worried I’ll get lost or menaced by a grizzly
but the truth is I’ve been off the map my whole life, lost, unknown
About the Poet
Kazim Ali is a poet, novelist, and essayist whose work explores themes of identity, migration, and the intersections of cultural and spiritual traditions. His poetry is known for its lyrical and expressive language, as well as its close attention to the spiritual and the visceral, and the deep language play that is both musical and plain spoken.
Born in the United Kingdom to Muslim parents of Indian, Iranian and Egyptian descent, Ali was raised in the Buffalo suburb of Williamsville. He received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Albany-SUNY, and an M.F.A. from New York University.
One of the most prolific voices of his literary generation, he is the author of 20 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, the most recent of which are Sukun: New and Selected Poems (Wesleyan University Press, 2023) and The Man in 119 published by Copper Canyon Press on August 25th, 2026. This is an excerpt of the first poem in the book.
In 2025, Ali’s book Black Buffalo Woman: An Introduction to the Poetry and Poetics of Lucille Clifton was awarded the Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism by The Poetry Foundation. Kazim is currently a Professor of Literature at the University of California, San Diego.
Photo: Kazim Ali at Buffalo Reading Park in 2023.
The Poem of the Week feature is curated by literary legacy awardee R.D. Pohl.