Poet of the Month
You Shall not be Gone
By Emiraldo Prifti
You shall not vanish,
As the shadows cease to dance
upon my window;
nor like rain, washing away the
frozen dust on the glass—no,
not at all.
Thorns failed to shield the rose
from the hand that nurtured its
beauty;
nor from the hand that marred it,
yet both if separated are overrated.
You shall not fade,
In the eternal battle where life
claims victory in every duel, and
death but one. Which holds
greater value? Who learns to
sink into the light when in light
within the light itself?
You fear neither life nor death, for
now, you embrace all destinies. Life
has presented you with many a
bouquet, yet the best were
served cold, I guess.
You shall not be gone,
as your skin takes on the hue of
the earth, stripped of life. You shall
persist with the wind
and the arrival of spring, with
love and the melodies that
accompany it. More than ever,
you shall endure within the silence
as you become silent.
Author's Note:To my best childhood friend who died of brain cancer 21 years ago when he was 14 years old.
Then And Now
By Emiraldo Prifti
You were about 9 years old,
sitting at the table,
focused on your school books.
The smell of baked potatoes,
the dishes clattering in the kitchen
while Mom took care of dinner,
and Dad stretched on the sofa
listening to the evening news.
Your brother wandered up
and down the house. Distracted
by these peaceful noises,
you raised your head to see,
without looking,
at this harmonious panorama.
You never thought that this simple
recurring moment at twilight
would ever be missed,
and you used to say to yourself:
"Ah, when will I grow up?!"
Well, here you are now after
many years. You grew up.
Dusk falls again. You sit
alone at the table, no noise
in the kitchen, only the monotonous
smell of the house.
Things have not moved
from their places for a long time.
All the peace in the world is here,
but you turn on the TV so
the house isn't a silent well,
in search of those missing sounds
that won't come back.
You look out the window and
console yourself. At least the stars,
the stars haven't changed.
