Ancestor

(poesia di Dora Pokrovac)

Stray gravel on the street
Slipped away under my feet
Barefoot I stood on the concrete
Raindrops turned into a beat
It seamed a familiar sound
Waiting to be found
And suddenly I’m bound
To this unknown ground
I’m not dreaming, I am sane
But I tried to fulfil my urge in vain
Put my hand under a leaking drain
I just desired to taste the rain
The air thickened up too swiftly
Became hot and heavy
I couldn’t say
Was it night or day
Until a stray sunray
Pierced its way
Through the leafy ceiling
And I turned to see what it was revealing
Captured in a prison of tall trees
I was lost and week in the knees
My cry for help seamed to disappear
In the same spaciousness which caused my fear
Only footsteps echoed back
As panic prepared to attack
There stood a man with ancient features
In his eyes I saw wild creatures
Untamed rivers in his hands
All the scars he gained in savage lands
He started to sing without a word
A melody I had already heard
A melody that called back pain
But released me from my chains
Made the blood run through my veins
A hurtful experience became healing
All memories turned into a pure feeling
I was mighty
I was mild
Carrying my only child
I was blessed
Watching it peacefully rest
And I held it close to my breast
But as I felt his hearth beat
I was standing back on the street
With the gravel under my feet
All my illusions were complete
All my memories were a deceit
Except the one I still had to meet
The one I still had to bare
Now sadly I declare
Forever I will care
So I won’t ever dare
To be this child’s ancestor.