Loading
Philament

MENU

Excursions

you always

Lydia Saleh-Rofail

Citation +

Citation: Lydia Saleh-Rofail. “you always” Philament 5 (2005). http://www.philamentjournal.com (accessed 4 March, 2021).

i remember
the bravery of those crimson toes
delicate armour amid musky crowds
when we stopped to buy broad beans you smiled at the vendor’s daughter with the
bedouin eyes
‘she has the desert in her eyes’ you said
while she put out her hand
you filled it with piastres
you
were always kind like that

remember
that woman?
you gave… when she was clutching
her withered child—she kissed
your hand and you had said ‘i know
i know my days in flesh
are brief
i feel no years’
how sweet you were

think back—
one night we walked
through that bazaar, arm in arm among sandy earth and beggars
a sonorous rhythm of pharaonic women
delayed
only
by oceans
and generations

can you picture those meandering streets?
those streets where
intoxicated whisperings rose and drifted like spiced blue smoke
citadels among grotesquely-peopled streets
were only
fevered activity
beyond
your suffering

new year’s eve
we laughed
danced
drank in the tapestry of delirium and dust
beneath ancient stars no odious bird flew that night
momentary freedom
we weren’t dispassionate, just forgetful
but you remembered
you always did

    Notes

← the colours of my flag

Ornament: Vol. 5 — January 2005

eleven years →

SUPRA (Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association) University of Sydney

Copyright © 2019 Philament
Website by Elle Williams

We acknowledge the custodianship and law of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation on whose Country we live and work. We pay our respects to those who have cared and continue to care for Country.

  • Home
  • Issues
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Contact
  • Credits
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Philament

    Philament
  • Close button

    close

    CLOSE

    • Issues
    • News
    • About
    • Submissions
    • Contact
    • Credits