Hot Line

[ghazala]

How he used to complain to me!
So many people
come between us
we cannot talk.
In the season’s first rain,
first snow,
full-moon nights,
evening’s mild fragrance,
morning’s blue cool,
how helpless!
How the heart aches!

• • Today between him and me
    there is no third.
    There can be contact
    with a slight movement of the hand.
    But how many seasons have passed
    since hearing that voice.
    It is not hard for me to call upon him,
    but the truth is
    the voices and the accents
    do not have the same tones.
    The tune is the same but the hearts
    are not close enough.