Statements

1. Yes, I have written in my letter
   that I will wait for you forever.
   I didn't really mean forever.
   I put it for the rhythm.
2. It has no ornaments or hands.
   It is always there in front of the TV--
   that empty chair.
3. I dream of a magical stick
   that turns my kisses into stars.
   In the night, you can look at them
   to know they are innumerable.
4. I thank all those I don't love.
   They don't cause a pain in my heart.
   They don't make me write long letters.
   They don't bother me in my dreams.
   I don't wait for them anxiously.
   I don't read their horoscopes in the magazines.
   I don't dial their numbers.
   I don't think of them.
   I thank them a lot.
   They don't turn my life upside down.

by Dunya Mikhail