The first drops fall one hour before sunset. In the beginning, just a few. Then a hard downpour floods the deck. Every few seconds, electrical discharges cut deep irregular lines across the dark-crimson sky. Thunders follow immediately after the flashes, loud like cannon shots. […]
Category: Literature
The White Tide
It risesin spirals of grasstwice a day,usuallyat the same hours. The hoofed bellsfrom the mountainsshatter the night’s edge,sending the milk flowinto circular songs. When you look atthe rows of labeled boxes,remember the starswrapped in prayers,the dreamswrapped in moonlight,the cows,and the tide.
The Ape Inside Me
Autumn is drippingfrom the old treewhile I shakethe thick branches. Every dayI slidealong the trunkuntil my backpackis heavy with apples. When I eat them,the ape inside mesmilessatisfied. Somedaywe’re going to touchthe stars. Its sparkling eyespierce the future,planning new tripson paths of bark,higher and higher.
In the Footsteps of the Cyclopes
The sky is paleat sunset.The stone moonhaunts, mute,above the hills. I’m seeking,without hesitation,among white sands and shells,cold tracks,old tracks of cyclopes. Silent thoughtsbury themselvesin my hair,bare,strippedof dreams.
Pink
She was floatingin the twilight,the sakura branchesspreadingover her dress,filling the airwith pink. After she left,only the deafening silencestayed,like a bell,behind the long kiss.
Zaskihi Warashi*
PerhapsI’m leaning too much into the wind,as if it were a carpetmeant to carry me over meadows. Perhaps you’re right,and it’s only my imaginationthat flickered that day at Ryōan-ji**,so long ago,when I thought a spirit from the gardenjoined me on the journeyto the other […]
The Black Butterfly
It camesurrounded by night.My mother was asleep,smiling sereneinside a lacquered box.And it was quiet,so quiet thatI wantedto screamforever. The house was alreadyfull of people.We were stepping in circles,boiling planets around a silent star,candles and prayersblending in a solemn symphony. The butterfly stoppedon the northern […]
BUTTERFLY’S DREAM 4
A path is made by those walking on it. Chuang Tzu (c. 369 — c. 286 BC) Part 1:Triangulum with Three Flashes of Lightning The thoughts of Alberto Shimada, the second lieutenant of Excelsior “If you could be someone else, who would you like […]
In memoriam Margareta Ursachi (1945 – 2022)
Dear Mother,I know you would have wanted me to go on after you are no more. I will do my best to continue my journey on Earth with my head held high until it is my turn to rest. I will write to you […]
AQUATIKA 3
“Let’s watch them from over there,” the master said, stepping aside.The three teenagers followed him to a spot near the edge about ten meters away. From their new vantage point, they began observing the five men.The rope with the large hook of steel continued […]
BUTTERFLY’S DREAM 3
Prologue I cannot prevent myself from wondering about the new generations that shall sprout into this world millennia from now. What shall they think of us? Shall they see our accomplishments as simple and primitive? Shall they portray us as uneducated barbarians? Shall our […]
Autumn Haiku 1
rain clouds descending –singing louder near the pond,a few old crickets (from the book “Tides of Amber”, 2019) © Marian C. Ghilea, 2019artwork by Marian C. Ghilea, 2022
Double Mirror
Nightfall.Wind and snow.I’m freezingon empty streets. Wounded,my thoughts scatter,turning corners,shards of ice and glass,memoriesfadinginto nothingness. Moonlight.I’m breathinga city full of ghosts,crumbling songsalready vanished,already long gone. A final deep breath.Soon,I shall sleep,I shall turn intoa ghost full of cities. (c) Marian © Marian C. Ghilea, […]
Shadow – 影 – Umbră
Shadow I standin the middle,moonlight streamingover the glade. Nightbirdscarry my gazein slow flightabove branches. Whenthe Moon sets,I shall be gone,too,shadowamong shadowsembraced bydarkness. 影 立つ真ん中に月の光が垣根を照らしている 夜行性の鳥私の視線を運び枝の上をゆっくりと飛んで 月が沈むと私は消えてしまう影の中の影闇に抱かれて Kage (Japanese transliteration to romaji) Tatsumannaka ni.Tsuki no hikari gakakine o terashite iru. Yakōsei no toriwatashi no shisen wo […]
