Communities in prayer
With eyes fixed on the sky:
The weather forecast brings no good news.
Ungenerous land covered with stones;
Clouds have left this horizon for the unknown
This is no symbolic Waste Land:
Better drowning in water than this autumn dry.
Flies are more numerous than usual for the season
In size and speed,
They bite like snakes and disappear.
Taghounja rituals appeal to merciful sky
To nurture the homeless child
And the skinny cow.
The unusual heat brings memories of dark tales
Of people being less human
Drowning in tears
And burying their beloved in the sand.
Last modified: 31 May 2001