At first, they did not ask,

Because they thought

I could not speak.

I had birthday parties

Just like you, but

Something was missing.

I continued to chant

That I was not an orphan,

But it was no use.

Again, they did not ask,

Because they felt guilty

And it was too late.

I kept switching trains.

I felt half-blind,

Sometimes half-deaf.

I learned to smile

Read and leave comments (0)

When your soul returns to Ras Dashen many years from now,

Time will stop to acknowledge your final descent.

Time will give no pardon.  Time will take no vow.

As a child again, you will walk through the land.

At the mountain foot olive trees are the same;

They were guarding your peace from below and above.

When the world seemed unfair – this is where you came,

This is where you...

Read and leave comments (0)

The time is crawling

On this slippery Friday afternoon.

My body is trapped

In an hourglass room.

My poor empty body

Can no longer feel the pain.

There is a dry flower

In the corner.

I have been staring at it

For the past hour.

Does it crave love

That I can no longer give?

Read and leave comments (0)

Cradle yourself,

Weep like a child

In the face of eternity.

What sins are you carrying

In your cow bag?

Take them out

One by one.

Place them on this stone

In the bright sun

So I can examine them closer.

“They will dry out,” I protest.

I laugh, “What’s the worry?

Are you trying to keep them forever?”

I pull back and hide

The bag behind my back.

“I am not...

Read and leave comments (0)

At the time of no poetry,

The silence weighs heavily

And sinks to the bottom

Of the spring like a stone.

At the time of no poetry,

The wind has stopped blowing,

And the landscape looks lifeless,

Draped in darkness.

At the time of no poetry,

My steps leave no footprint,

My silhouette is a shadow

Shivering from the cold.

At the time of no poetry,

I am alone and...

Read and leave comments (0)