An Evening in September
Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim

So much has been lost
in the paraphrase and I am one of them
now, on the other side
trying not to be a burden
to not
fabricate the evidence
against us all
and if you cannot forgive
yourself, I cannot forgive
you either.
Our dead child
waits for us in her
stony little grave
but I cannot say it.
If three people have the same
conversation, who says
they all have the same one ah'khee?
It was a long time ago
and shouldn't matter to anyone now.
Afterall, she was never born
into such vivid detail
still has the luck of innocence
on her side and the courage
to warm herself in that tomb
with nothing more than
her outlaw hands and messages.
Sure would have done it differently
even though it would have looked
the same and she'd still be in there.
Her little brother, darling boy
made more of an impression
coming in and blessing us
with his unbelievably high hopes
but he died too, left without
telling anyone goodbye
and I turned to the woman
in the cot beside me,
nos son mortificados,
estranged, guilty
and she was the one screaming.
And for this ah'khee, I now
pay for these crimes all alone.




*ah'khee is the familiar form of brother in Arabic, translates literally to "bro"