Alf Laila W'Laila

[panta rhei]

A light, a thousand nights have passed and yet
No moon, no star, no house is near
Only our groping steps we hear
Among the rushing of the rain

How long has it been since we saw
The sunset behind a bank of clouds
Since we sank into twilight and then into night
Since we danced and fell
Right on the ground
And music faded away

How long since our skin was glowing and warm
And the world was full of song
Then something went wrong and it became dark
And groping hands were losing touch
And the rain kept falling and falling

Longing for light for a thousand nights
In insomnia I cry
Cannot live and cannot die
Cannot wake and cannot sleep
And the rain keeps falling and falling

Dark water is dripping from my hair
A bedtime prayer murmured somewhere
Are you here my love?
Are you listening?

The morrow of the moult will be
When drops of dew hang in the grass
When frightening shadows quickly pass
When the eastern sky gets pale
Can you see the morning star
Coldly shining in apogee?

The last cold nights of rain
We endure; can you feel
The night breeze on your skin?
It is whispering of the end of night
Whispering of dawn, of light
Are you listening?
Are you here?

(written 2000)

[tinkerjack]

rainy night in west texas irrelevant post deleted here.
I tried to write about lightning and whirling dervishes on flying carpets, but it come out wrong.

Alf Laila W'Laila

no idea what that means



beautiful story

[panta rhei]

alf laila w'laila means
thousand and one nights


"...But when it was midnight Shahrázád awoke and signalled to her sister Dunyázád who sat up and said, "Allah upon thee, O my sister, recite to us some new story, delightsome and delectable wherewith to while away the waking hours of our latter night." "With joy and goodly gree," answered Shahrázád, "if this pious and auspicious King permit me." "Tell on," quoth the King who chanced to be sleepless and restless and therefore was pleased with the prospect of hearing her story."



from http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/index.htm