Taste of Time

Linda Abed Albaki

Translation from Arabic: Saleh Razzouk & Philip Terman

 

O waiter,

I want a turkish pipe with two trays,

Wine stored in mud,

And a  breath trapped with bombs.

I want bread armed with an explosive belt,

Stars with dark shades,

Defeated moon,

And a dried out smile.

I want a silenced tweet,

A rose in the shape of a knife

And

 Braided heartbeats around a volcano.

I want postponed dreams,

swinging hopes,

Desperate hearts,

And spiders

weaving allusions

 Instead of safety castles.

I want cooing sounds

Washed with wails

And crucified

On the gate of peace.

Its ashes has been

its ashes dispersing/in the form of incense

that strangles the dawn

I want secret palms

And homeless jasmine

In order to keep

The taste of time

Unchanged.

 

 

 

 poet from Syria