Cadence of a Lone Traveler

No comments

April 29, 2020

For the dream I am

for the fear I have become

for the soul that splinters my love

for the lost and found broken

for the bearers of silent news

for the holy pebbles I’ve swallowed

for things possible in death

for voices made of distant laughter

 

This is a silent night

and I can’t close my eyes

 

Lying in the middle of a road

shadows of gliding overcoats

briefcases swinging

stop wondering why they don’t stop by

stop staring at the sun

there is no rest in resting

no glory close to the ground

This is a silent night

and I can’t close my eyes

 

For all the people from 24th May

I wish to meet you again and stretch time

just long enough for a memorable kiss

this is not a note of farewell

as its drenched face may suggest

this is a note of love

on a little piece of paper

peeled off my skin

 

Absence has become my refuge

for I can’t bear my mother’s voice

that still sounds like my childhood name

I can’t hear to a little girl

whose giggle poisons me with hope

how can I tell my sisters

that exile is an escape

to an island of

neither salvation nor return

 

For the dream I am

for the fear I have become

for the love that punishes me tough

for the little darling who asks me for the date of my return

for the mother who can hear my heartbeat over the phone

for the sisters waiting for their voice

for the brothers howling like chained beasts

 

I didn’t choose to be a poet

in the place of your dreams

Yohannes A. Tesfamichael
Nov. 09 2019

Print Friendly, PDF & Email