A Dark Alley - Zahir al-Ghafri

No one in the dark alley but you 

The mouth’s flower in the dark 

You’re the woman of the last breaths 

And empty archways. 

Hands in water, knees in soil 

Each signal from you is a high threshold to exile.
The sea before your door is the refuge for passers-by
The sea is white in your blue palm
And a mark of my love-stricken heart.
Rebellious memory stirred the autumn leaves 

Under the door 

You went to pick them up 

I was the cold light wind. 

Inspiration comes with no compass 

Under the riverbank,
You’re the selfsame woman 

In the street or the dark alley 

Before others. 

Did I say “gloom”? 

Did you laugh at the spring that let us down?
Was winter what you meant? 

This misunderstanding is a bow 

Hanging in ice 

Perhaps there should be... no end.

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Zahir al-Ghafri (1956-2024) Oman

Translator not stated

Source: Oman Observer, 27 Sep 2021