Tuesday, November 2, 2021

"Surely You Remember"

After they all leave,
I remain alone with the poems,
some poems of mine, some of others.
I prefer poems that others have written.
I remain quiet, and slowly
the knot in my throat dissolves.
I remain.

Sometimes I wish everyone would go away.
Maybe it's nice, after all, to write poems.
You sit in your room and the walls grow taller.
Colors deepen.
A blue kerchief becomes a deep well.

You wish everyone would go away.
You don't know what's the matter with you.
Perhaps you'll think of something.
Then it all passes, and you are pure crystal.

After that, love.
Narcissus was so much in love with himself.
Only a fool doesn't understand
he loved the river, too.

You sit alone.
Your heart aches, but it won't break.
The faded images wash away one by one.
Then the defects.
A sun sets at midnight. You remember
the dark flowers too.

You wish you were dead or alive or
somebody else.
Isn't there a country you love? A word?
Surely you remember.

Only a fool lets the sun set when it likes.
It always drifts off too early
westward to the islands.

Sun and moon, winter and summer
will come to you,
infinite treasures.

- Dahlia Ravikovitch

translated by Chana Bloch and Ariel Bloch
in The Window

6 comments:

  1. I adore this. I so dearly miss when you'd send me poetry in the mail. Any chance this could resume? I'm moving into our own apartment next week FINALLY.

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    1. Where in the world are you (and where are ya blogging) now?! I am always available to send poems through the mail. :)

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  2. We left Uganda in June after nearly 11 years there and are currently staying at my parents until we move into our apartment later this week or next.

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    1. Wow, big changes. Good luck with them, and feel free to send me your address for a poem postcard. :)

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