Other Banks - Fatma Krouma

I love you more in temperate climates
away from the killing sun
and the long and boring Sundays.
I see us here, on the other banks of life
on the sands of the coastlines
among the grasses of the gardens.
We plant roses in the illuminated paths
and cultivate kisses on the trains arriving
from the happy cities;
we pick them fresh from the rain dampening
our footsteps, yet our footsteps remain light
and the paths remain lit
and the trains arrive on time
and you love me more
and you do not delay, or forget
the name of the flower I love.

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Fatma Krouma (born 1986) Tunisia
Translated by Victoria Adukwei Bulley
Source: Modern Poetry in Translation