Though we are no longer speaking,
I am still learning your language.
Our countries have made a history
of leaning against one another
without looking each other in the eye.
In spite of the places where the sweat blends,
those who come from where you are
often arrive here with no welcome.
Muted by the attempt of a new life,
they learn to harmonise with the silences
that resound on this side of the border.
Now that I know the music
that plays beyond the wall,
I can only imagine how it must feel
to first hear the night reverberate with this hush
that unfolds no bloom.
“Walls” appears in DUM DUM Zine Issue 7: Quar + Time which is available to read online here.