Appeals and Entreaties
Poet: Dr. Alireza Bemanian
|February 24, 2026
© www.bemanian.com
The tent of appeals and entreaties, quake and quiver,
aspirations and pleas, shake and jiggle,
covets and craves, mix and blend,
vigilance and alertness, inclinations and wishes, wield and flourish.
Still, the windows and gaps, shimmer and shine,
panes and periods, reveal and expose,
openings and holes, unveil and disclose,
and, glasses and transoms, divulge and release.
Murmurs, whispers, mutters and mumbles,
the chatters, and chats, rumors and gossips,
resonate and ring, echo and boom,
weeds and flowers, reside, dwell and settle.
Tensions and worries, drench and soak,
frictions and pulls, quest and seek,
pressures, stresses, marinate and steep,
still, the beam of wonders, timbres and tenors,
invoke, appeal, and, refer and seal.
Canaries chirp and peep, air is crammed and rammed to caress and cuddle,
sparrows' beaks incisive and sharp, searching for the seeds,
deer and elk, conjoined, abutted, to forge spat and tiff,
still, planet revolves and orbits, ignoring malice, clatter of mischief.
Calamities, mishaps, conquer and surmount,
thunders and rumbles, rescind, retract and repeal,
blows, cracks and jolts, eradicate nuisance, obliterate irritant,
whacks and wallops, humiliate, disgrace, and dishonor,
Still, the glaze of soul, the blaze of heart, daze and astound.
Be alert, attentive and observant,
moments and jiffies, minutes and ticks, follow the trace,
the rules and models, the means and patterns,
instigate and prompt, motivate and trigger,
the zeal and passion, vehemence and ardor,
salute and gesture, greet and marvel.
Delegate, entrust, shield and refuge, the simmering instincts,
the sky lines not to diminish,
obstacles and clouds, are doomed to ebb and fade,
sun shimmers and shines, reflections glisten and gleam,
shades stretch and reach, to slant, incline and lean,
captivate and entrance, the surreal force of dreams.
And you, alibi and offer, essence, extent and command,
the wholeness of the core, the pal and mate,
and we, to pace and leap, hop and stride, and step and brief.
Bonded and glued, fixated and attached,
to feel the breeze, shimmer the blues,
to sparkle and flicker, the rays and waves,
or, to beam and gleam, streaks and streams,
and you, the joy and rapture of grace, poise, and we bless.
Themes & Interpretations
The Doublet Architecture
The poem’s systematic deployment of near-synonymous pairs (“quake and quiver,” “shimmer and shine,” “murmurs, whispers, mutters and mumbles”) creates a sonic density in which meaning accumulates through nearness rather than precision. Each doublet approaches its referent from a marginally different semantic angle, achieving through accumulation what single words cannot reach.
The “Still” Pivot
The word “Still” functions as a structural fulcrum at five points in the poem, each time redirecting from turbulence to luminosity. This dialectical architecture mirrors the psychological rhythm of genuine supplication: accumulation of weight, then pivot to light.
The Supplicatory Cosmology
Dr. Bemanian democratizes appeal across species and scales: canaries, sparrows, deer, and elk participate in the same cosmic drama as the human petitioners. All created things are engaged in continuous petition, forming a universe-scale tent of longing.
Cosmic Indifference as Grace
The planet’s indifference to malice is presented not as abandonment but as liberation. The cosmos operates by its own logic, immune to human noise, and this immunity clears the field of petitioners’ self-importance — freeing them to attend to what genuinely matters.
Resilience as Spiritual Practice
The imperative stanza proposes that resilience is not passive endurance but an active spiritual discipline: to “follow the trace” of moments, to recognize “the rules and models, the means and patterns,” is to align consciousness with the ordering principles of the cosmos.
The Reversal of Petition
The poem’s most original claim is its closing move: “we bless.” By ending not in receipt but in gift, Dr. Bemanian argues that the act of genuine appeal, earnestly pursued through calamity and surrender, transforms the petitioner into a source of grace.