The voice of the wind
Aso

I hear the sound of nature in this empty London street, nothing else
I like to hear voices in this lonely world    
Voices remind me that I am still in the cycle of existence
I like the sound of the wind 
It’s the only voice that remains after a battle 
It chimes with my loneliness
Every time it knocks at the window
It dispels my isolation 
Breaks the silence and becomes a friend 
The wind doesn’t carry Covid19 
It brings music to my expatriate’s ears
When lonesomeness takes me in its jaw
The wind awakens me 
Adds the whisper of colour to my thoughts 
No one remains 
Just me, friendless, and the wind 
All the faces are gone
Just the shadow of steps in the train station 
Silent smiles sink beside the riverbank. 

I like the wind’s harmony
There is power in nature’s reaction 
This exhausted earth 
Does not miss human noise
This is a windy spring 
When it blows in the city 
Human rubbish flies through the air
It plays with plastic bottles 
And overflowing bins of takeaway bags
But not today
Instead it visits me, an immigrant.

The wind speaks to broken hearts
Grief, separation and also hope
I like the sound of the wind 
In this emptiness 
When it blows
It carries thousands of stories 
Of abandonment and pain
The wind doesn’t like the quarantine
It blows freely and noisily
I like this sound.

I don’t see your face 
When your eyes close forever
But this blustery spring 
Has a sound
Which brings cold tears to my lap
It blows your final breath to my ears
The wind helps me embrace your last heartbeat
I can’t hold your hand at the end of the road 
My dear
But the wind brings me your perfume 
I can’t talk to you and listen to your soul 
But the wind carries your whisper
Your weeping and your loneliness
I am with the sound of the wind right now 
And will be with you forever.

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Aso is a writer from Iraq.

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