Les Éventails, Portraits of Passion

The shadows of birds fading on a fighter’s back
 
The undressing of words on an unstamped postcard
 
The wet swings in the distant park
 
The jealousy of raindrops on the umbrella of lovers
 
The laughter of a boy before a bird
 
The song of two flutes, two swords, two bracelets, two fingers
 
The stare of a wave before a pearl
 
The yearning between the legs of a farmer’s wife
 
The opening of doors             closing midday
 
The sudden howling of our muse—and
 
les éventails—disturbing the guest inside of us

Nathalie Handal, “Les Éventails, Portraits of Passion” from Love and Strange Horses. Copyright © 2010 by Nathalie Handal. All rights are controlled by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Used by permission of University of Pittsburgh Press.
Source: Love and Strange Horses (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2010)
More Poems by Nathalie Handal