Al·Gharb·5

5.

In this city   haunted   in this house
turned to the zephyr of fables
in this fable by the sea dissolved by salt
by the sea illuminated
in this lunar ship
by the thinnest speckles of limestone
in this forest of iron where forever the days
the voices mute
in this pier of coloured stones
ochre   blood   flowers crushed by the sun   by the skilful
instruments of light
in this clearing where death is a word
postponed
for another city   maritime   for another
perfect tomorrow
in this city revisited
by fingers   obscure   bones
without memory   without home

they remember the tenderness   hear the ancestors
with whom they share this house once white
but can no longer find the rooms
the hallways
the friends
the fleeting breath
of yesterday.