Far At A Distant Sea Poem by Sami Gjoka

And I saw her approaching, far and slow from the distance
At the lips of the sea that whispers to the sand.

As if joy had been eroding, turned to sorrow, licked by pain
As the fruit that was healthy has been eaten by the mold
I rose, faced with threat and danger, to leave rest and to leave pleasure
Of sunbathing in the sand
For the chill and for the cold;

Running scared to the canyons many, many miles long
Where not a single beam could come through,
Where not a shade of man flickered on the dark walls
Not a thing or not a soul, did I hear or did I see.
Deep in that obscurity.

As a fish that sees the gull coming close, goes deep at sea,
I was running from that place, like the arrow from its bow
Daring not to rise above ancient codes of freezing cold.
I kept sinking deep below.

Never did I understand for how long I kept on running
Never did I have a clue where I was stepping over
But I know in the end I decided all of a sudden
To stop there and not a step, not a meter to move farther;
Rose my head and rose my eyes, from my feet and from the ground
To see her standing there transparent and like a crystal
I could see her through and clear
She was a log that’s thrown on fire.

And I did extend my hand, —to embrace I think by now
Just to touch I thought then
As my tears were streaming down
Seeing her that left again—as the rain that leaves the cloud.
To her lucky, happy man
For she never fools around.

And there every single day
She will cut in many slices,
Bloody slices soft and thin
And serve on a silver tray
My wounded heart to him.