Ghazal of Oblivion

by Alfian Sa'at

When the blind are lonely do we lend them our mirrors?
If only we would vanish when the lamps are turned on.

To wake up is to break these cobwebs on our bodies
And to stay awake is to spin them all over again.

I wish to fall over and over, losing every contact with the world.
Even drowning is to be intimate with the skinlessness of water.

How many people can you pray for before you lose count?
In the candle's aura only the fervent loneliness of your lips.

Darkness is what I ask for, where my breathing becomes familiar
In harsh light the shadows keep dancing with the restless sundials.

Alfian, remember that pale dawn after a night at the playground?
You brushed sand off your body as if you were a cracked hourglass.

From my first roll-