Boston Review Books

Islam and the Challenge of Democracy
by Khaled Abou El Fadl
(Princeton University Press)

The God that Took the Place of Pleasure

There he was assimilated
Word by word by someone who needed words to survive

Lay me down among the pillows
Warmed by apostrophes my wheat my wet ghost pillows

Pricked with burnt embroidery
Pillows for one arrogant enough to pray for humility

In a fit of self-abuse
Lay me down among the filth and fluff and fluff invoked

And feathers that escape

—Judith Hall

Judith Hall is the author of To Put the Mouth To, The Promised Folly, and Anatomy, Errata. She is poetry editor of The Antioch Review and teaches at New England College.