zephyr meets the shock of bougainvilleas simplicity where walls are smoothed
etched interventions to connect delicate like the stringent of geometry of galaxy
symmetry inside windows of quietly opposite patterns
on patterns lining assymetric curves for interleaved ceilings
passion walks by the azan humming through alleways at the speed of dawn
the recurrence of a memory forms new thoughts so we read ancient wisdom
travelling time we ask the poets from long ago to name our realisations & El Bikri marvels back
و لو دخل الداخل قرطاج أيام عمره و تدبر فيها لرأى فيها كل يوم مستأنف أعجوبة لم يرها في السالف
wind carries up waves from the shore to shroud the birds prayer
it shawls the knocking lullaby of bricklayers
unveils the story tellers on every ancient shop front searching for a beaming ear that trusts
along a paved pedestrian path through ruins of ancient destruction or building
holding space for erasure we learned to savour what survived
crescent moon sunrises that insist on lengthening evening waves
lulling eyes to greet the day away by folding themselves into sleep
returning the low tide’s nightfall it recalls a memory’s remnant meditation
jasmines creep through balcony slats to get comfortable & settle
cats trotting through chiselled grills scare strangers & pull a laugh from seated grandads
with water jugs by their soles the mundane doesn’t find a word to wear so it forgets itself
clouds burning in pastel levitate over vistas of sea & unruly green
nomadic landscapes architecturally rotate to meet regenerative rain
become containers for salutations in polysynthetic soundscapes
enticing a need to listen before the heart switches itself into a laugh
let the ma’louf singer grin from the wink she lined in yellow & blue calligraphy
silver amulets cover the trailing henna inside your silked wrist
arriving courtyards breathe life into you through arched doorways opening into the next second
millenia of fragrant poems have lined the eucalyptus leaf & every traveller wrote another syllable
imagine what the forrest would say when their rhythms greet each other once
again into another hour of awe so alight in your irises they progress gratitude
glancing past the luminous horizoned mountain to taste what the new night will sing you
hear it & let your body sway watch the air dance the tree branches this is your melody wishing
Ola Elhassan is a Sudanese poet, curator, and electrical engineer in London. Sometimes her poetry experiments with and about music, mathematics, physics, and dancing. She is a resident poet and member of the Common Sound collective, and has featured on the Common Sound Spring “Compilation 22” and Raelle’s debut EP “Bloodlines.” She has performed at the Roundhouse, the Serpentine Gallery and Ake Arts Book Festival and more. You can find her poems in various international anthologies including PANK Magazine, Inkwell Journal and most recently, Before Them, We.
