Steffen explores the haunting nature of voices, referencing Merwin’s forgotten languages and kingdoms, suggesting a yearning for connection with the past, exclusively for Different Truths.
Variation on a Theme by W.S. Merwin
the sounds pronounce an older utterance out of the shadows
sometimes stifled sometimes carried from clear voices
they are still speaking the language of their last kingdom
that no one remembers who now hears their voices
—W.S. Merwin
You had heard ghosts speaking in the hollows with clear voices,
Soft as the rain falling between remote & near voices.
In visions, in dreams, I see figures emerge from mirrors ...
I am still taunted by restless spectres, still fear voices.
Shahid, our hands held to sunlight took the shapes of flames,
& I would dream we became ashes & light, mere voices.
A coy glance, your hand caressing my face, touching my hair.
A dalliance? A clandestine kiss, the fear of near voices.
I said it was the sound of waves through swirling mist.
You said it was wind lisping from a distant pier, voices.
We still hear zephyrs echoing the hymns of the ancients,
& in the winds from where the night & sea cohere, voices.
Juma is spoken by shadows roving the rainforest–
Their words echo through a fog, carried from clear voices.
Picture design by Anumita Roy
Steffen Horstmann’s poems and book reviews have appeared in publications throughout the world, including Baltimore Review, Free State Review, Istanbul Literary Review, Oyez Review, San Antonio Review, Texas Poetry Journal, and Tiferet. He has published two books of ghazals, Jalsaghar (2016) and Ujjain (2017).
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