
Crosses and Spans
Poet: Dr. Alireza Bemanian
|January 25, 2026
© www.bemanian.com
Crosses and spans, bridges and bonds, the intents and meanings,
objective and purposes, sudden though unprompted, the spontaneous prod,
the goad, nudge, snap of the glare, disapproval, vanishment, saluting the frown,
glower and grimace, contortion and scowl,
to sneer and smirk, agility of the forgotten songs.
The postures and poses, carriages and manners,
the sentiments, emotions, Impediments, hinderances, and notions,
cessations and halts, pauses and clauses, the yield and motions,
although the dimming sun, absences, privations, the lacks and needs,
conjure and convene—
the ashes, ruins, and debris, are the prays of the voracious winds.
Convoys, cavalcades, and caravans, at far horizons, distant skylines,
making the longest shades,
copious, profuse, and abundant, the sheens, glitters, and glows,
fascinate, captivate, and mesmerize,
riding the storms, taming the rages and fames, it is the rapacious gales,
to cope cravings, survive the urges, hold the rudder to play
The junctures to share, crossings to infuse, imbue, and pervade —
the dawn of the day, the glimmers and twinkles, sparkles and charismas,
demand, plea and query, envisage, foresee and unveil,
portend and foretell, the glory and aura, resplendence and sensations,
do coerce and push, goad and provoke, keep on calling you, surfers to reply.
The sun’s envy, spite, and malice, to hurl and bruise,
coerce and impose, the retreat and absence,
no; merge, cast and rove, meld, ramble and roar,
keep, the coastal shores, aches and yearns, and merging carols,
reverberating chants, the muffled and muted minds and wits,
wrestle and conjure.
The symphony of nimbleness, adroitness, the dawns of inclinations,
or the alchemy and the core, the hub and the heart,
courage and tenderness, adjourn and defer, stigmas and agonies—
the zealots and aficionados of the dark, the dreary and dismal moments of interim,
doomed and destined by canaries’ songs, shall not stripe and ilk.
the mountains summits, peaks and pinnacles, acmes and apexes,
the echoes in the valleys, and the shadows to soothe and console,
race and run, duel and hurry, to tab the shoulders,
to smooth the paths, and adore the serene susurration sounds,
the festal, gala surrounding scenes, the ring, crew not foreseen,
the valleys’ waterfalls, rumbles and mumbles, rivulets and torrents,
to seduce the seekers, induce the braves, and tumble the fears.
the intense, penetrating, retort and riposte, the shivering searching sparrows,
shall always sing the song, shades of the valleys do adorn the ponds,
astute and acute, idle and loiter, the breeze and zephyr,
harbingers and heralds, do observe and perceive,
heritors and heirs, contest and compete.
propensity and proclivity of the inner beams, patina and luster,
the endurance and persistence of concerns and cares,
the contents, gratitude, appraisal of revealments and candors,
conceal and veil, the springs and fonts, of abhorrence and hate.
your adherence, the grace and poise, melt the hearts of unexposed.
Themes & Interpretations
The Architecture of Connection
Crosses and spans are not merely structural but existential. Connection must be *built* — engineered through deliberate effort. The poem insists that relationship is construction, not gift.
The Ambivalence of Light
Unlike poems where light is unambiguous ally, here the sun carries “envy, spite, and malice.” Even sources of guidance can harm. The poem demands navigation of this complexity.
The Caravan’s Journey
“Convoys, cavalcades, and caravans” traverse hostile terrain together. Collective journeying sustains what solitary passage cannot. The horizon is reached in company.
Grace Over Force
The resolution comes through “adherence, the grace and poise” that “melt the hearts of unexposed.” Connection achieved not by overwhelming resistance but by elegant persistence.

