In memoriam Fawzi Karim – From the Galata Tower by Pina Piccolo

From the Galata Tower, May 21, 2019

for Fawzi Karim

 

I can see
the chimera of melancholy assailing you
lonely chair on the terrace
orphan of the shadow cast
by the man staring toward Adalar islands:
The Prince of Longing and Exile
in his white linen suit
thinning grey beard
a mother of pearl necklace of words
around his mind

No longer does the burden of his
foreignness plunge in your rickety frame
Nor does your wooden back
hold up the shards of his history

The heart can take only so much
of shredded days
and worlds rotating askew

Let his spirit roam free
over the Marmara sea
among the islands of the archipelago
riding bejeweled horses
nosing around fish markets
witnessing the conference
of cats and crows

Let go of the work
of verse
let it take wing
let the music ring
on the tongue
of the young.

 

Pina Piccolo, 21-05-2019

 

Cover image: Photo by Teri Allen-Piccolo

 

That “home” is a catwalk between abysses – Three poems and paintings by Fawzi Karim