Philippine American Writers & Artists

Carta de Umm Al-Hákam
para Ben Quzman

“My messsenger will come, receive him well,
If you can stoop to write a letter, then
I will break off a bone to be my pen,
And write with it, in blood, a fit reply.”
—Abu Bakr Muhammad ben Quzman (c.1086-1160 A.D.)

So many harvests of oranges, of figs,
of saracen wheat, and now this—
you say you have lost your moon
because my hair does not caress your shoulders,
because I’m not there to bring you early light,
because I’ve taken my caravan to Moxacar.

Your memory is as short as a rabbit’s tail.
Remember, it was you who would not listen
to the little birds in your heart, instead
you heeded the mathematics of your father,
of the old men in the mosque. You must stop
this foolish wind, I will not bubble under your breath.

Copyright ©2006 Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc.