Towards the empty market, feebleness swings me along
A man and a woman wash with their eyes the dusty shopfronts
Searching for old, cheerful pictures
The vendor brushes the embarrassing questions away his shoulders
The street is deserted
The heart lies on the pavement of emptiness
Stretching out its long legs
Leaning against the last wall
I leave him alone
To search for the right word that could describe all this devastation
The end of a long war
No war at the end
No desire for anything
And nothing in desire
I am not myself anymore
The others are not themselves, too
We are in a city that we do not recognize
Do not say anything to anyone
Do not write words of condolence on a collapsing wall
Do not eat from the same plate of your dead
Just walk in silence
Let life recover by itself
Naser Rabah
27/04/2025
