Come
slowly
as if you’re walking on a string
between my heart and the body of emptiness.
Starvation frightens me
when you crave a poem
amidst the rubble.
Place it between your lips,
and let me bite into the letters
at the end of the night.
I say: come,
but you’re trapped
by bombs, questions,
and the shadow of an embrace
at your doorstep.
Come closer,
and ask me:
have you ever tried to devour a house of poetry
with lips trembling from hunger?
I’ll answer you:
I carry for you a loaf of love
I don’t know how to drop
into bellies that forgot
the taste of bread.
Pour a little of your truth
into my cup,
and be silent…
for when words are spoken through your eyes
they’re sweeter than speech.
I’ll scream all night long
into the sky,
so the flock of birds will say:
Tonight
I spent reciting your name
in lovers’ prayers.
And if I fall silent…
don’t be afraid,
I’m just trying
to swallow the poem
without hurting its meaning.
And if you arrive
in a moment of surprise during the raids,
stumble on my voice at the threshold
for I slept last night
guarding your shadow on the wall,
wrapping your name
in an old song
you used to love.And I dozed off
whispering in absence,
as if I hold emptiness
shaped like your face.
