The Tapping Of Brass
by Mohamad Said Bazzi
(1996)
The tapping of brass
The tapping of brass
The unforgetfulness
Of my sorrow, my love
The wind sings me now
The wind comes
To pluck at the ropes of my core
And pull out smoothly
The strings of my eyes
Until the desire of the clanking
Against the insides of my ribs
Like the gurgling of hungry
Infant birds to be let free
Builds infinitely with sound
Like ladder rungs to the heavens
The tapping of brass
A Bedouin woman
Alone in the vast
Desert within my breast
Clad in black
Clangs her brass belongings
And sings
To wake any human
From beneath the sands
Whisper tapping faint bones
From behind distant clouds
Awoken by a pity to answer her
Fainter than remembrance
Of a spring without song
Last war
The tapping within me
The wind through my eyes
The toppling of my bones
Like a rock pile that laughs
I am the last of this suicidal race
Finally atop these dunes
With my open hands