Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Mithu Sen

Bahia

Bahia

Bahia

dead fish on the beach
becoming earth
sand –
no longer a fish –
becoming a pattern



*



I lift my skirt

to walk the sea



*



I kiss your mouth –
you translate my tongue



*



It reeks everywhere –
the smell of caneleira
of cinnamon tree –



in my tea
in your breath



*



I’ll see you soon
in my next life –



if you are late –
I will walk



*


gradually
the waters close –
nothing to grasp
nothing to flow



*


I am –
yes I am
becoming
someone else –
for a while



*



I think of the time
we decorated our house

with plants and waters



*



hold my wrists –

I don’t want to listen

to that old fortune-teller

anymore – never



*



it is so dark –
not even the face
of who I love
can be seen



*



I could not go to you

because I was

the other woman



*



song to be sung –
under the tree
under the sea
under me

that crime
I haven’t committed yet –

but longing for
the same river
river bed

intricate paths
vessels
the same veins       wrinkles
the same you
balanced            unbalanced

no light, no dark
no shade, instead
so flat – damn flat

send me some shadows
send me some greys –
let me feel the dimensions

I laughed
until
there were tears
in our eyes

I make paper boats
send them to friends –
“burn them” I request
some did, some did not



*



I found

a chain with a pendant –
this is “good luck”

in Bahia

I found two “good lucks”

on the beach
last evening



*



with the tidal flow –
let me be boiled alive



*



no exit
let myself be nailed

no exit
let myself be nailed



*



no schedule
no agenda
no ‘shoulds’ –


an uncharted time
I am restless –



*



shifted and shifted –
deleted
and edited –



*
Close

Bahia

dead fish on the beach
becoming earth
sand –
no longer a fish –
becoming a pattern



*



I lift my skirt

to walk the sea



*



I kiss your mouth –
you translate my tongue



*



It reeks everywhere –
the smell of caneleira
of cinnamon tree –



in my tea
in your breath



*



I’ll see you soon
in my next life –



if you are late –
I will walk



*


gradually
the waters close –
nothing to grasp
nothing to flow



*


I am –
yes I am
becoming
someone else –
for a while



*



I think of the time
we decorated our house

with plants and waters



*



hold my wrists –

I don’t want to listen

to that old fortune-teller

anymore – never



*



it is so dark –
not even the face
of who I love
can be seen



*



I could not go to you

because I was

the other woman



*



song to be sung –
under the tree
under the sea
under me

that crime
I haven’t committed yet –

but longing for
the same river
river bed

intricate paths
vessels
the same veins       wrinkles
the same you
balanced            unbalanced

no light, no dark
no shade, instead
so flat – damn flat

send me some shadows
send me some greys –
let me feel the dimensions

I laughed
until
there were tears
in our eyes

I make paper boats
send them to friends –
“burn them” I request
some did, some did not



*



I found

a chain with a pendant –
this is “good luck”

in Bahia

I found two “good lucks”

on the beach
last evening



*



with the tidal flow –
let me be boiled alive



*



no exit
let myself be nailed

no exit
let myself be nailed



*



no schedule
no agenda
no ‘shoulds’ –


an uncharted time
I am restless –



*



shifted and shifted –
deleted
and edited –



*

Bahia

Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère