I Went Out to Hear by Leila Chatti
I Went Out to Hear
Leila ChattiThe sound of quiet. The sky
indigo, steeping
deeper from the top, like tea.
In the absence
of anything else, my own
breathing became obscene.
I heard the beating
of bats’ wings before
the air troubled above
my head, turned to look
and saw them gone.
On the surface of the black
lake, a swan and the moon
stayed perfectly
still. I knew this was
a perfect moment.
Which would only hurt me
to remember and never
live again. My God. How lucky to have lived
a life I would die for.
KEEP READING
SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets, 2023.
ABOUT LEILA CHATTI
Leila Chatti is a Tunisian-American poet and author of Deluge (Copper Canyon Press, 2020) as well as four chapbooks. She lives in Cincinnati. (Source)
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ENDNOTES
- Explore other works in pursuit of: gratitude • silence • ephemerality • Or browse the index
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