I peer closely
into the faces
of the people
passing by
but find
nothing there
then I look at
the dogs and cats
and they don’t
seem to care
and now I fear
that I won’t
find myself
anywhere
so I shout out
where have
you gone Dominic
and the wind
answers
somewhere
and then I start
to run
though I just
become tired
and feel like
a shoe without
its pair
and finally
when I get
back home
I look at my
photographs
which I decide
to tear.
conversations drift through my mind
faces can be misread
air can become poison
the sink is of particular value to me
through it I enter Paradise
where a yellow car
takes me around
hill country is all rough edges
its beauty its babies being born
how they cry
our sorrow though has got stuck
inside us
and we just can’t pull it out
although we try so hard
it doesn’t yield
we are badly off now
we have nothing in our hands
we are all garbage and rubbish
and hidden dark clouds
begin to rain till we tremble.
from blazing heat
to ice cold
all in a few minutes
and you wonder
what is happening
and doff
your sweater
unbelievable things
are going on
that you’ve
never seen
heard or felt
and people
are the strangest
of them all
one moment
they appear happy
and the next sad
now you expect
anything
and look up
at the sky
and it is stacked
with faces
you can’t read
and everybody
realises we have
no choice
that all this
will take us to
where ever it
may lead.
and I am trembling in pain
and all around me
I see only wicked faces
in the most unlikeliest places
some look out of my shoe
some staring up the commode
in my loo
and now they begin to howl
louder and louder
while I am being
consumed to powder
and in the breeze
I am blown away
as dogs chasing my trail
bark and bay.
our blood turns to poison
in our veins
our hearts are being
pounded to pulp
our brains
are unrolling
till there is nothing
on our faces
and everything
in our bodies
has rotten
and we fall
on the Earth dead
and after all that is said
only death is our
real resting bed.
are talking at once
the sky is getting cut
and falling to the Earth
in pieces
people walk
on their faces
their feet speak
the language of insanity
and out of my mouth
my tongue wriggles free
like a snake
and instantly
my nose turns into
a cockroach
and it runs away too
then my eyes bleed
and I explode like a bomb
and my life comes to an end
no one can mend.
is something
we feel
and in my mind
the hands of the clock
are moving fast
and I know
my body is
getting damaged
and I see
the sadness
in the faces
of those around me
and I realise
we are all brothers
and sisters
attached to each other
more strongly
than we think
and sometimes
there is so much crying
from the hurt
and the pain
our heart breaks
and we die.
you need to dig deep
into the earth
and find the right cave
and inside it
you will hear
such beautiful music
melodies so sweet
you will turn into air
and you will blow
over gardens
of peacocks
and deer
and roses
into the faces
of lovers
and it will be
your breath
with which
they kiss.
fast
and the days
are running
at top speed
so many moons
fill my eyes
and the stars
are all dazzling
like magic
and the way
the people
the faces
rush past
love explodes
in my heart
and lights up
the whole
universe in joy.
is a worm
eating your brain
and now there is rain
and when you see
how green the trees are
you can almost see faces
they are so cool
and the darkness between them
is to die for
these giants having lived
so many years
they are so peaceful
so in love with each other
how they stand touching
all in a row and then a row
behind that and what form
the forest has and the mountains
live with such pride such dignity
they are so serene their beauty
is beyond belief they seem
to be mothers feeding the sky
their baby which is so happy
and beaming with joy as it sucks
at their breasts
and you can see the clouds
so still taking their fill
and you are the doting father
how happy you are to see this
how your heart fills with blood
and warmth spreads
all through your body
and you look at your hands
you look at what they have done
and you are happy.
Dominic Alapat 