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Nocturnal Trip


(From Berlin to Leipzig on a motorcycle)

Shooting stars,
Void sprinkled with glowing dust
Retreats to the past.
Here I am -- in my planet's snow age,
Engulfed in muffled sound;
Woods pass by, the red light blinks,
Slicing time, documenting my share, an instance.
From it's secure housing in skull and helmet,
Mind embraces body,
Connects to the frost on my legs,
Exports drowsiness, even a dream,
To the emptiness between zenith and the trees,
An echo, macabre, wavy dark mass,
Is then interpreted as warmth.

What am I doing here?
My hands are stiffening.
Lightning, with filed, tenderized teeth,
Howls in chopped space, fires consume my earth.
Energy in wires draws coordinates
Alternating my position between hope and despair.

Finally, in the polar night,
Affinity with my planet is attained,
My blood is insulated against cold.
Here I am, leaving the isolation
Of the individual place, of the struggle,
Heading, at a convenient altitude,
Towards a vision of amplitude,
Towards the mirror of mind.


Anwar Al-Ghassani
June, 1989 - June, 1995