between the sahel and the suburbs

 

my mind spins

unable to empty

itself of you

 

i was born

without skin

you say standing

in the doorwary

contemplating

the rain

remembering

yourself

an altar boy

among candles

gregorian chants

& the strange

sad music

of the homeland

you left at 19

long before you

met me on a bridge

between the Sahel

and the suburbs

beneath a sky

of crossed stars

you pierced me

with a kiss

like a spear

carried me

to a cliff

at the edge

of the canyon

and then you flew --

a naked peregrine

against a sky clouded

by smoke from a bridge

on fire below leaving

my skin burnt

to ashes Ii hold

in my naked hands

and my mind spins

unable to empty

itself of you

 

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