ghazal

Who is absent?   who is present?   who is asking?
what if "is"   bleeds into "isn't"?   who is asking?

is the question effervescent?   who is asking?
could the self be evanescent   who is asking?

is it true   the silent painting poses questions?
who will answer?   it's the docent   who is asking

we're aprey   to what's apparent   quiet carnage
does the son   sire the parent?   who is asking?

social circles circulate   they're rarely static
was the party merely pleasant?   who is asking?

for the question that I'm probing   ground needs breaking
here's the loam that tills this peasant   "who is asking?"

asking questions   is the habit of the thinker
one who feels is also present   who is asking

from clear problems to solutions   draw a distance
where the poser's barely nascent   who is asking?

from the posture of the tree   a hundred branches!
for reply of every percent   who is asking?

some find   the question's form   leads to its answer
but mind you   answer this doesn't   who is asking?

by the lane of implication   through the meadow
in the land of ever-wasn't   who is asking?

Raphael!   your merry riddles spin around   but
one who's grinning   squarely isn't   who is asking