"I was trying to think about women packing ice cream in the Gaza Strip...."

Juliana Spahr.

CONTAMINATION

Lemons in the bowl
Petroleum-jelly on them
Green fruits of Libya

I TURNED & LOOKED

I am on the chair
I hear a giggling young voice
She shows me her smile

INTELLIGENT

My child seems hypnotized
By what he sees
I look towards the direction
Of his field of vision
And the only thing that captures
My attention is the sign
On the back of a woman
That’s says “bebe”

Some meters back
There was another sign
In another woman’s back
That said “perfect”

What are you seeing son?
I asked him
He remains silent
Glassy-eyed

What are you seeing son?
More silence

I look at the woman
And then look at him
He smiles at me
And runs away towards
His classroom

TREK


The best way to travel
Is inside tears
Specially tears
That can not be identified

Secret tears of love
Stealthy tears of rapture

Tears that lay the
Route for journeys
That only truthfulness
Can generate

Tears that wash away
The ungratefulness
Of a harmful world

After all
If you follow your tears
You will arrive
To the place where
Water gathers

AIR WHISTLE


The helicopters outside
Fly on my night
And you have made
Of your mind an airport

I am sorry
For not being sorry
When everybody
Began to suffer

I believe it is less dramatic
When it happens in a monitor
In real life
I always like to
Home in beauty

It is better for the heart
For the mind
For the soul

I did not meant to give life
To your disguises
But I felt them
And touched them
And now that they are alive
I love them too

In creation
There’s no accidents
Only art

We love
The work
Of our spirits

It remind us
Where we come from
And where are we going

WELCOME TO HER SMILE


There was a lot of wine
I told him it was a noble thing
A good cause
A good mix

When they fed us
They became more relaxed
More comfortable

They were close when
They said the place looked
Like an Egyptian structure

The feeling was foreign enough
But it was just a feeling
Because the guy serving the pork
Spoke Serbian

The girl dispensing
The water bottles
Spoke Spanish
We had a good understanding
She even gave me thumbs up
With a beautiful smile