Once I Believed in Dreams

by Murtaza Ahmadi

Swallowed by the nightmare’s flame The nightmare like a horrible ghost Like a black hole in the heart of sky That casts its dark shade over twinkling stars Even at daybreak the sun barely flickers behind the dark

And I, the family dreamer, have fallen apart My voice once sang songs of hope Now it chokes my throat The butterfly in my chest flutters As if caught in a web

My eyes are blinded by endless pain I am like a statue My home no longer filled with my scent

The storm of migration has tossed me into a land of mystery and loss Far from the land where I was the seller of dreams The family optimist Now I drift with a dark flock Of crows toward the black hole My soul like a broken lantern, floating in an endless dark

The dream seller is cracked, lacking hope identity and comfort I stand before a stained mirror Droplets of water hang upon it Through my own eyes, I appear as a faint motionless image

My eyes seek me out My pieces are torn into parts In the storm of refuge I had hoped this was just a nightmare Now I know that life is a nightmare Dreams no longer my currency My only comfort found in fresh breath of my son