End of Childhood
The miracle floats over the abyss
the defenceless heart marches onto
something already lost
a river planet somewhere far away
and nostalgia of borrowed time
Entropy
Jazz with Ella
Excerpt
At first when she heard someone calling out her name, she thought it was the kid next door who had first shown her the chipmunk. Crouched in the trees, she suddenly realized that it was Doug who was calling. Let him call, she thought. I’m having fun here. Even when she caught the panic in his childish voice, she had stayed, resentful. Finally she emerged from the grove to see the neighbour’s son flying down the slope and into the water and to see her mother racing out of the outhouse with a look of unveiled horror on her face. All of them running, running past her, ignoring her.
★
Douglas was buried in Toronto, in the small graveyard near their home. Jennifer’s father became even more distant with her, and the very life went right out of Jennifer’s mother. She blamed herself for not keeping watch, and oddly enough, she also blamed the lake, but not Jennifer. It was too deep, too wild. Yes, she should have been more vigilant, but they should never have gone to such a dangerous place, she told the family.
Jennifer knew the lake was not the problem. She had been the problem. She had let her brother drown. Though her father had said nothing to her, she knew that he would add another black mark to her name in that mysterious record book that parents keep.
Later that same year Lila got word that her sister Eva had been killed in a car accident. She could scarcely mourn—she was already in such a depression over Douglas. Bad things come in threes, Lila told Jennifer. Sure enough, her friend Svetlana’s daughter contracted polio and died. Now Lila wanted to keep Jennifer home from school where she would be safe from the disease that was crippling so many children. But Jennifer and Jacob insisted that she attend school, and Jennifer stayed healthy. She loved school and earned mostly As. From her school life she drew much of the attention and encouragement she was not getting at home. Her teachers thought her a model pupil.
At home, her mother had retreated into silence and servility. Her father rarely spoke to Jennifer, directing his commands through her mother: “Have the child clean up the kitchen. Make sure she’s dressed for Sunday school.”
The Circle
Excerpt
“No, what I mean is that before he gets very sick, if this tumor grows, he has
to look after his affairs. Tomorrow he’s having some tests done to verify his
condition, and then they’ll put him on a new experimental medication. We’ll see
how his body reacts to that, as well as how effective the medication is going to be
on the tumor.”
“Oh, honey, I feel so sorry he’s so sick, but don’t forget, you have to be strong
for him, as long as he’s around.”
“Thank you, sweetheart, for your kind words. Come to think of it, I have to
be strong for him whether he’s here or back home; you know, I’m the only
nephew he has whom he trusts with affairs of the family.”
“You mean you may return with him?”
“Of course, baby, if he needs me to go and do things for him. Of course, I’ll
go. He’s my family, he and my Auntie Mara.”
She is silent on the other end of the line. She had never thought of his going
away, that far away. If he goes to Iraq, is he going to come back? She never
thought that he may need to leave the United States ever. Then, what will she do?
Go with him? Would he want her to go with him?
“By the way, are you coming for dinner, honey?” she asks.
“Yeah, if that makes you happy. How about I get Talal to come along, will
that be okay with your mother?”
“My mom doesn’t mind Talal, as a matter of fact I think my mom likes him.
Don’t be late, please. It’ll be just the four of us and Mom has prepared chicken
breast in the oven with plenty of lemon and herbs. I’m sure you’ll like it.”
“Okay, baby, we’ll be there no later than six.”
Jennifer tells her mother that both Hakim and Talal are coming around six
and suddenly Emily feels very warm and excited. She says nothing, but goes
upstairs to have a shower and get ready, although it’s only three o’clock. She has
caught herself thinking of him a number of times today. In church, her mind
never let her concentrate on the service; always, his eyes with that light sadness in
them and a line of white, straight teeth tormented her. She cannot think straight.
What is it with her? This is unusual. She has always been a very organized and
meticulous person. How come she can’t concentrate?
She is undressed in her bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror. Her
forty-seven-year-old body is full of passion, full of fire, and the only one who can
quench that fire is a younger man with sweet, dark eyes. Yes, her body is hungry for
sex, and Talal, who has come into her life quite unexpectedly, with his open heart
and simple manners, fills her life with a passion and joy she hasn’t felt for a long
time. Why has fate brought him to her? Why has she come to the point of being
unable to get him out of her mind? Why has he turned her life upside-down?
Beat Dinner
I look down upon you, my city, Cluj, the scene of my romances.
Watching each and every passerby from the main square
to the station, seeking familiar faces in my mind, images’
recollection:
there, the street where a former love of mine once lived,
where I lived, too,
just to the right, and the smoke-filled pubs, and the station
where you always arrive, only to arrive anew.
I look down upon you, my city, Cluj, the scene of my romances.
The bunch of silent ones standing and waiting for some kind
of resolution, but in the end, they wander off to a downtown dive,
get drunk, kick some familiar sorrow
in the ass, and off they go.
I look down upon you, my city, Cluj, the scene of my romances.
The central park, where some girls were laid,
lingering till dawn, waiting for the breaking of the day
only to leave, aiming to stretch boredom to its limit at some exam,
then declaring that nothing matters in the expanding darkness,
listening to friends, taming some thought all the way home,
claiming there’s no beyond from this point.
Still Waters
Excerpt
“No, he hasn’t mentioned it to me. Why? Do you think that’s why
your dad is here?”
She shook her head. It was a moment before she answered him.
“I had thought that, but now I don’t. I think I know why he’s here,
Cam. I believe our fathers are trying to set us up for more than a
drive home in the dark.”
Cam glanced at her quickly. “No kidding? I’m sorry, Tyne. Sorry to
embarrass you, that is.”
“I’m not embarrassed, I’m angry. How dare he meddle in my life?”
“Your dad must know you’re about to be engaged to a chap in
Emblem. Why would he try to set you up with me?”
Tyne took a deep breath and let it out on a sigh. She wondered if
she should tell Cam the whole story, then decided she would lose
nothing by doing so. “My boyfriend … Morley … is Protestant. Dad
does not approve. In fact, he’s furious about it.”
In the dim interior of the car, she saw Cam nod. “And now,” he
said thoughtfully, “his old friend, Arthur Tournquist, who is Catholic,
calls to say he’s met Jeff ’s daughter. And in the course of the
conversation, Arthur happens to mention that his son is home from
medical school, and bingo! A bulb lights up in your dad’s brain.”
“Exactly.”
They reached the hospital grounds, and Cam drew up at the entrance
to the nurses’ residence. He shut off the motor and turned in
his seat to look at her. “Tyne, I’m sorry this has made you uncomfortable,
but don’t be angry with your dad. I’m sure he means well.
And my dad is as much to blame.”
She sighed and touched his hand where it lay on the seat between
them. “It’s okay, I’ll get over it. It was a lovely evening, and I really
enjoyed meeting your mother. Thanks for bringing me home, Cam.”
In the dim light she could see his sad smile. “Well, as we said the
other day, we may end up working in the same hospital sometime.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed.” He leaned over and kissed her gently on
the lips.
Tyne did not pull away. Instead, her right arm went up to encircle his
shoulders. Suddenly they embraced, clinging together for a moment,
their cheeks touching. Then she turned from him, opened the car door
and ran into the residence before he could move from his seat.
Savages and Beasts
Excerpt
“Yes, my twelve year old sister. She’s on the girls’ part of
the school.”
“Do you meet your sister sometimes?”
“No, we can’t.”
“But, you have, am I right?”
The boy raised his head and an imperceptible smile
appeared on his lips which was the answer Anton looked for.
These kids knew and had ways of doing things the adults couldn’t
stop, Anton thought and smiled.
“What is your name? The name your band gave you?”
The youth stirred a little, didn’t say anything; then he went
back to the cauldron.
“Come tell me your Indian name; it’s our secret; I won’t
tell anyone,” Anton insisted.
“Migizi…” the youth whispered.
“I like that name,” Anton said with a smile, “From now on
I’ll call you Migizi and it’s our secret. Tell me though: what is the
real name of your sister?”
“Miigwan.”
“Such a beautiful name. You must be proud of your sister…
and what is her Christian name?”
“Deborah.”
“Good Migizi; make sure you do a good job with that
cauldron, ok?”
The youth nodded his head and focused on the job in
hand by wiping the inside of the big vessel as hard as he could;
it wasn’t so easy to get the grease out of it with the little soap he
was allowed to use.
Dylan walked close to them and seeing Anton smiling
after he talked to the youth he asked him.
Marginal
Repast
I fell in love with chair emptied
by the absence of a dead soldier
and the tender cyclamens kissed
the void where I hang hopes and treasures
while the immense number
of morons count their shallow virtues
in talons, staters and hidden gold
I fell in love with passionate lust
with the outline of the virgin’s endless
desire hovering in my dream
like a gracious albatross filling space
with new emptied, sanctified life
the nod of its meaninglessness and voila:
I am still alone in the silence
of a dark path halfway through the night
of people holding up vanity as if it were gold
Karyotakis-Polydouri, The Tragic Love Story
Return
Smile of the Gods, Bay of Saronikos, always great
blessing of our ship’s route
we could hear the roar of the high seas as easily as
the calmness of your depth
under the morning dew like a dove with its body’s
nonchalance: Athens
shivers and revels like a nymph that longs
for the faraway sun.
Because the sky shines, blonde mane of Pegasus,
Fate of the Parthenon
glass that Zeus keeps upside-down that the dream-light
is poured a flood
prodigal son, I return to you swaying like a flower
in the breeze
earth, sky and you, oh sea of Attica, to whom I owe all
my Songs!
He Rode Tall
Excerpt
It must have been three o’clock at night. Joel awoke to the
rumble of a vehicle pulling into the ranch yard. Peering out
the kitchen window, Joel confirmed what he already knew from
hearing the distinct sounds of the engine. It was Harry pulling
in with the old half-ton. Harry parked behind the ramshackle
caboose that served as his home, shut off the truck, and disappeared
inside.
Joel couldn’t sleep. When the clock on the wall finally showed
five he rose from the chair that had become his bed and started his
routine. It was six by the time he was down to the barn and he was
surprised to see that Harry was already at work. After exchanging
cordial “mornings,” the two men went about their routine of
brushing and then saddling the three-year-olds. The engineer in
him told Joel that it would be far more efficient if they saddled
more than two horses at a time, but with only two saddles between
them this was the best they could do. And besides, Joel was starting
to enjoy the break between working horses that allowed him to
think about what he had accomplished with the last horse, what
he would do differently the next time out, and what he would do
with the horse he was about to ride. As he became handier at saddling
and unsaddling, Joel was finding that he had less time for
this kind of thinking. As he learned more and more from watching
the old cowboy he didn’t need nearly as much time to think about
his game plans for the schooling that day. Without a doubt,
Manolis Aligizakis 