Epistle to Adunis (or Prayer for an Old Poet)
for Yehuda with apologies
Salaam
Adunis
I see you from across
the river
the living breathing
poem in Paris
safe from Syria
where poems were
tortured and hanged
the meter draining
from their stanzas
You are safe
Adunis
as I once was
fighting while writing
for Jerusalem
“where wild stones
bay at tame
walls”*
You are still there
Adunis
while I sit across
the river
my unwritten words
chained to my legs
And I say to you
Adunis
the you still free
even at 93
to see
to say
what you need
to release yourself
from Paris
in peace
Until then…
Say it all
Adunis
Say how dictators
of sand
betray every grain
beneath their
Oxford-shod feet
Say how rabbis and imams
and priests
bleed cities
of freshly loved prayers
How they hold sway
over days
over bread
over heads
over vaginas hiding
but biding
their time in the dark
Say it to Gaza
To Rafah
To Shebaa
To the Knesset
To Damascus
To Tehran
Say if for Kyiv
to Moscow
then hide
from the drones and missiles
Say it to Florida
to Texas
to Georgia
to parents of censored children
for convicts strapped in death chambers
needles fucking their arms
Say it to New York
which you “shaped like a pear
or a breast”**
to LA to Chicago
to London
anywhere
with a park or a square
Say it all
Adunis
Though your hand and mind and soul
may tire
Paint every breath with passion
punctuation
premonition
Say it for me
Adunis
from an old and dying poet
for an old and dead poet
Say it for me
Adunis
Say it as a favor
Say it for you
Say it for me
Just say it
*taken from “Mayor of Jerusalem”
by Yehuda Amichai
**taken from “A Grave for New York”
by Adunis
8 thoughts on "Epistle to Adunis (or Prayer for an Old Poet) "
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
So good to see your work again, Lee. Love the call to “Say it” — those convicts in death chambers, wow! Powerful call to action.
This is powerful! I like how elongated the poem is, stretching out every word. Godd work!
Epic!
This has so much weight and importance. Thank you for writing it!
A deep, thoughtful poem!
intense and well drawn image:
the meter draining
from their stanzas
love the move from passive waiting:
my unwritten words
chained to my legs
to active call of ‘Say it’
A very strong message- I especially like the pain communicated by “my unwritten words/ chained to my legs”.
Powerful, and full of wonderful lines. “Fighting while writing” can define us as poets today.