To William Carlos Williams

I ate them

The apples which I had put away

In my travel bag

The night before.

Soothe to say

Both were sweet

Though one sweeter than the other

The other still sweet

With an aftertaste of je ne sais quoi

That lingers

And gnaws into my taste buds

Long after the journey is done. 

Ali H. Raddaoui

02/16/2019

Recollections

On Grand Street of Montenegro Town

Evergreens come and go

After a fashion of alignment

Calculated from before inception time.

They slip into the rear view mirror

And out into oblivion.

On Grand Street of Montenegro Town

This olive tree stands tall

Her foliage slanted

Toward the end point of the horizon.

On the ground, underneath

The breeze jazzes with the bushes

And buzzes with the bees

And pats the wings of humming birds.

Underneath the trunk

Her roots dig into the ground

Sink toward the four corners

And seep into this Midwestern soil

As the branches up above

Wave good bye to the passerby.

I acknowledge the foliage

And wave back

Not knowing whether

I will wind back there

In this life or another.

Ali H. Raddaoui

02/16/2019