there are scenarios
I go through
each starring you
fantasy movies
in my head
leaving me
stranded
somewhere
between
hope
and despair
despair
on hope
between joy
and despair
is hope
limping along
toward tomorrow
from Lady Midnight’s Songs: Midnight’s Song
Nights are long when she can’t sleep;
the bright moon glitters like a bangle.
She thinks she hears an answer to a prayer. . .
“Yes. . .,” she murmurs, into empty air.
translated by J.P. Seaton
the crack in my heart: for ZW
for the first time
in many years
I heard sorrow in your voice
the other night
as you said you wished
I was there
but more than miles separate us now
there are those years
and the hurt
we both inflicted
if only you spoke that way
before I left
maybe I would still be there
but now the only sound louder
than the pain in your voice
is the crack
my heart made
in my chest
Roads Too Early by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar
Roads disappeared early
I lost my hope of disappearing
Something else covered your foot steps
Beyond the silence colored moon
Far away from everything, and stars
You became the denier of all gardens
Built your house where my freezing winds
Can’t find a branch to break
Leonard Durso 