Shahen
I’ve gone past the place
where we turned,
I am sure,
so I retrace my steps
on each stone,
going slow
till I see it.
I missed it before:
a pile of stones
in a heap
at the stream,
left just for me
by my Sosi.
I leave the water’s edge
and turn into the woods
till I find the soft spot
where they waited.
And there on the ground
where my sisters once sat
is a cross of two sticks
tied with red thread
pointing north.
North!
Sosi, no.
They will find you
and kill you.
Not north.
Not the river.
Not the soldiers.
Not north.
There’s a bear in the sky.
Run away.
Run away.
Not into his claws
and his teeth.
Cross in my fist,
I run back
to the stream
as if the earth
is made of fire.
Step, step, step, step,
breath, breath, breath, breath,
step, step, step, step.
Then from that steady pulse
I hear it in my mind,
baron
Kaban’s
duduk
winding
da dee da dee da dee, daaa, da da dee da
da dee da dee da dee, daaa, da da dee da
,
the drum pulsing,
the
Alashkerdi kochari
calling me into a line of men
shoulder to shoulder.
Step,
hey,
step,
hey,
step,
hey,
step,
hey,
our call back to the drum
syncopated,
the drum pushing my steps,
the
duduk
winding
da dee da dee da dee, daaa, da da dee da
.
Step,
hey,
step,
hey,
step,
hey,
step,
hey,
faster and faster,
all in a line
we shift
into double time.
I fly across the earth.
Wings whoosh.
Eagle flies low
over streambed,
moon striking
his feathers,
and talons fierce.