wake up wake up
call to prayer
on this morning
holiday
give thanks give thanks
today
sing sing
praise praise
let us love
let us be loved
and remember
do not forget
other writing
like a gull
the gulls
crying out
gliding soaring
around the buildings
always returning
to rest
by the sea
like my thoughts
seeking attention
circling spinning
inside my head
always settling
to linger
on you
learning a language
my brain
freezes
my tongue
fumbles
no easy task
sitting
on the opposite
side
of the desk
another morning leading to tomorrow
dawn creeps in
pulling me
from dreams
of people long gone
a life abandoned
but not forgotten
the book lies closed
on the bed
the pen the pad
awaits
one more morning
here today
leading to
tomorrow
6am in Maltepe
coffee
a breeze
the sea
the day begins
here
in Maltepe
wearing your ring: for JLD
here
I sit
your ring
on my finger
these long years
drinking coffee
watching ships
at sea
and thinking
of your dreams
unfulfilled
hoping
one day
when we meet
again
you will
approve
revisionist history
judging
by standards
not yet
accepted
then
so easy
to be superior
in another
country
another
time
the problem
want
and need
you
always confused
those
and therein
lay
the problem
the clock
no use
looking
hours
drag by
morning
nowhere
in sight
momentary neighbor, 5am, Maltepe
sitting
on my balcony
staring
at the lights
on the islands
out at sea
a gull
rests a minute
on the ledge
to stare
at me
tip my glass
say hello
neighbors
this moment
in time
Leonard Durso 