SONG OF REMEMBRANCE
Last night I dreamed a far past memory:
The desert nights were warm
As we lay in the silken tent of our master.
We touched with sweetness and the tenderness of roes,
nuzzling their young.
And we were young and fair of face and flesh.
Remember with me--
The desert nights were warm,
The stars were soft and bright,
And you and I were one,
O, my sister.
Do you remember?
Our master learned of our tenderness and touching
And sold me to an infidel chief.
Do you remember, my beloved?
My nights were dry and bitter,
And filled with the pain of forced taking.
And the desert winds blew hot and burned
my face and flesh.
And I was with child by the infidel chief.
Where are you, my beloved?
In silence, with a muted tongue and voice,
I cried your name each moment of each night,
And my heart came apart beneath my breasts.
And when my time came to deliver the infidel's burden from my body,
I went into the desert by myself,
And dug a pit in the blistering sands,
Crawled into it and clenched my thighs until
the child died,
and I with it.
Where have you been these centuries,
my sister, my soul, my beloved?
Let me kiss you with the kisses of my mouth,
For your touch is like a fountain in the desert. |
