THESE ARE SOME OF THEIR CUSTOMS

	 By Armine Iknadossian


	  Eat boiled wheat and pomegranate seeds to celebrate new teeth.
	This is only the beginning;
	not Genesis beginning
	but the start of the absurd list.

	  Announce `sweet bath water' to a newly bathed person,
	and they must give you their clean cheek to kiss.
	This is lucky and good.
	This makes God happy.

	  Read your fortune in the dark maps left behind in coffee cups
	and believe it,
	but don't bet on it;
	what you see is what you get.

	  Name your daughter or son Revenge. This is not a metaphor. 
	This means they are strong
	and will be respected
	by their children.

	  Throw a raw egg at the tire of a brand new car
	but don't wash it off
	for that will cause a tragic accident;
	it happened to my uncle.

	  Repeat `God willing, God willing, God willing.'
	He's listening you know,
	and there are too
	many evil eyes so don't chance it.

	  Believe in the omen of itchy palms that bring money.
	This is not a rash
	but an invitation by God
	to meet him in Las Vegas.

	  Blue glass eyes ward off evil
	so hang one 
	from your rearview mirror
	and pin it on a newborn baby.

	  A cracked mirror is good luck.
	So is dropping
	a ceramic dish on the floor
	or breaking a wine glass.

	  And when you spot a new moon, laugh out loud.
	That's God smiling at you,
	and it would be rude
	to not smile back.


--
Armine Iknadossian was born in Beirut, Lebanon and raised in Pasadena,
California.  She received her BA from UCLA and an MFA from Antioch
University Los Angeles. She has just completed her first manuscript,
Gnosis. Publications include Pasadena City College's Inscape, UCLA's
Wisteria, Cal State Northridge's Edges, Lounge Lit: An Anthology of
Poetry and Fiction by the Writers of Literati Cocktail and
Rhapsodomancy and zaum. "The Return" was a finalist in Backwards City
Review's annual poetry contest.