I asked the locust leaves if they were lonely.
They replied,
We are restless.
An owl on a branch of the locust tree
wept silently.
I have looked in all directions.
At home, I found my future in a spoon's face,
and my melancholy in the strings of an oud.
I haunt myself.
Indigo is the night sky.
Indigo is the sleepless sea.
Nun-white bird,
I will meet you beneath the locust tree
wearing a veil of Point d'Esprit
and holding a torn carnation.
_____________
A mood that at first appears contemplative, and then cuts so razor sharp into the bones of loneliness. Your use of italics here is very effective, and helps drive the lines home. I especially love the spoon, the haunting, and the nun white bird.
ReplyDeleteThe weeping owl, the nun-white bird - the future in a spoon's face - all go straight to my heart. Just beautiful.
ReplyDelete"At home, I found my future in a spoon's face,
ReplyDeleteand my melancholy in the strings of an oud.
I haunt myself."
I don't think I've ever read a more heart-rending lines, the imagery so vivid, so piercing.