After Your Farewell

After your farewell,

Everything changed.

The brilliance of stars in the dark night,

The scent of earth, cleansed by warm rain,

Village women’s mournful songs at dusk,

And my heart,

Throbbing on the paths of our secret moments.

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After your farewell,

My days are no longer days,

My nights no longer nights,

My life no longer a life.

****************************

Everything misses you,

The abandoned roads around,

The water wheel draped in jasmine,

The pot in the yard of the old house,

Sheep’s forgotten wool on thorns,

The breeze sneaking into alleys and hearts,

Everything that witnessed our lost love misses you.

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Perhaps one day you’ll return,

As a lost, unfamiliar soul,

To places that have become sanctuaries,

For the dust and the wind,

And the creatures seeking refuge in life.

All will deny you,

Except for the time that forgot to fly,

And fell asleep beside the shadow of the crumbling house.

With it, my beating heart,

Waiting for your return.

*****************************

After your farewell,

My days are no longer days,

My nights no longer nights,

My life no longer a life.

1979