my grandfather and home

 i

 

my grandfather used to count the days for return with his fingers

he then used stones to count

not enough

he used the clouds birds people

 

absence turned out to be too long

thirty six years until he died

for us now it is over seventy years

 

my grandpa lost his memory

he forgot the numbers the people

he forgot home

 

ii

 

i wish i were with you grandpa

i would have taught myself to write you

poems volumes of them and paint our home for you

i would have sewn you from soil

a garment decorated with plants

and trees you had grown

i would have made you

perfume from the oranges

and soap from the skys tears of joy

couldnt think of something purer

 

iii

 

i go to the cemetery every day

i look for your grave but in vain

are they sure they buried you

or did you turn into a tree

or perhaps you flew with a bird to the nowhere

 

iv

 

i place your photo in an earthenware pot

i water it every monday and thursday at sunset

i was told you used to fast those days

in ramadan i water it every day

for thirty days

or less or more

 

v

 

how big do you want our home to be

i can continue to write poems until you are satisfied

if you wish i can annex a neighboring planet or two

 

vi

 

for this home i shall not draw boundaries

no punctuation marks