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Security

Security

Kapka Kassabova

After a long day
My father locks the doors
The windows
The blinds on the windows
He locks out the voice of the wind
The question of yesterday

My mother turns off every light
In every room, in every cupboard
She turns off the TV
The red light of the heart flashing
The last star
In this forever foreign sky

And carefully they lie in bed
Listening to the sound
Of growing children


NOTE: This poem was written in English and appeared in the books All Roads Lead to the Sea (Auckland University P) and Someone Else’s Life (Bloodaxe).

Translation