The thousand and one nights
Of insidious, snake-like delays…
The thousand and one nights
Of prisons and fairy tales. –
Talk, Scheherazade… The sultan is listening.
Your executioners are close by.
Talk… And as you talk let your words
Unlock the incredible heights of the sky.
Talk, Scheherazade… The sultan is listening.
The sultan is ravenous. Your fate waits in suspense.
Do not stop! The executioners are quick to obey.
There is bitterness in your throat and your voice is tense.
But you must talk… And with each trembling word which you say at night
You pay for each new breath of air and for another hour of life,
You pay for your strength and your helplessness
And for all that which may be lost or possessed.
Talk, Scheherazada… The sultan is ravenous.
Your words flow slowly like blood from an open wound.
But, oh, do not yet give up… For the thousand and first night is still far
And the last handful of clay is still unpaid.
(Janina Degutyte)
More Poetry from Janina Degutyte:
Janina Degutyte Poems based on Topics: Night, Life, Obedience, Listening- Antigone (Janina Degutyte Poems)
- Untitled #13 (Janina Degutyte Poems)
- Neringa Pines (Janina Degutyte Poems)
- The Earth And Her People (Janina Degutyte Poems)
- Lithuanian Mother (Janina Degutyte Poems)
- Intermezzo (Janina Degutyte Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Life Poems, Night Poems, Listening Poems, Obedience PoemsBased on Keywords: snake-like, executioners, scheherazade
- Lamia. Part I (John Keats Poems)
- A Poem On The African Slave Trade. Addressed To Her Own Sex. Part I (Mary Birkett Card Poems)
- The Believer's Espousals : Chapter III. (Ralph Erskine Poems)
- Contest Between Beauty And Wealth, (Mary Abel Clinckett Poems)
- Advice To Ev'ry Master Of A Family, To Govern His House In A Religious Manner (Rees Prichard Poems)