Tuesday, May 02, 2006

The morning after...


And in the morning,
at the sound of his snoring,
she put on her silky red dress,
but she still felt so naked.
She was exhausted...
dirty,
shamful,
and a sense of guilt overwhelming her.
"I wasn't born for this..." she thought.
Next to her bag, she noticed his money,
the price that monster paid her,
to enjoy her body,
but never her soul.
And she remembered her need,
her poor place,
her years of suffering.
"but it's not worth it..." she thought again.
And she remembered her father,
his plans for her,
the future he promised her,
and his hugs,
and when she let a black teardrop,
burning its way down her cheecks,
she remembered his kisses on those cheecks,
and she felt so betrayed.
And she remembered her village,
her house,
and her brother.
the great dreams,
the disappointments,
one after the other.
The tragedies,
the losses, and the pity
her trip to the city,
the dark rooms,
the music,
the light shine.
The men's blank faces,
the sweats,
and the cheap wine.
The loud laughs,
and the stairs down.

Walking outside the dirty door,
she didn't know her way,
she took the nearest cab,
and asked the tired driver to drive her away...
far far away.

(picture: "the night after" oil on canvas by Antoine Tamburro, taken from an art gallery front show in New Orleans,La)

11 comments:

Eve said...

we're similar in a way, the rest of us. we settle for lesser dreams, go to bed with them, and then when everyone is sleeping, we sneak out and try to be as far away as possible. useless try.

funny. in our case, they call it "maturing".

Laila K said...

beautiful hashem

Unknown said...

this post is beautiful!
i love the paintting and i see how it inspired you. very nice.
eve is right, we settle and that's life!

Ghassan said...

very nice.. I like how he's already fading away in the background, and she didn't get to the cab yet!

Mar said...

Black teardrop..the result of smudged stale make up? So real.

Fouad said...

This is a side of you that's entirly new to me Hashem.. silky red dress, black teardrop, cheap wine... very interesting, and very beautifully written I might add.

Hashem said...

Eve,
I fulkly agree with you, and very well put! We settle, sleep with them, only to sneak out....very true, my friend!
Thanx, Laila.
Mirvat,
the painting is so strong that I would visit it many times in my 3 days I was in New Orleans in May 2005. I emailed the gallery owner to make sure it survived the hurricane, and he told me that it was sold long time before.
Gus, the game of colors in it is so intelligent....don't you think?!
Mar,
you got it...btw, I like ur blog.
Fouad,
this is my dark side my friend!
Happy you liked it...!

rouba said...

eh indeed, very impressive!

Zanzounito said...

this picture saddens me, the woman is beautiful and yet succoumbed to nothingness..

Anonymous said...

Very best site. Keep working. Will return in the near future.
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Lindsey said...

So was it stolen or sold? If it was sold im curious for how much? Email. Me reply please linzbabi@gmail.com