Salman Rushdie Poem by Douglas Scotney

Apparently, the 'elipses,
trapeziums, rhomboids, ovals, rings...
pentagrams, parallelograms,
six-pointed stars, and abstract
increasingly labyrinthine patterns
for which there are no name'*
of Islamic geometric art
derive from the pacing about his wife's courtyard
that M did in the few hours between telling the people
they could and couldn't worship,
as well as Allah,
Lat,
Uzza
and Manat.

* 'The Satanic Verses' Pp.118-119.