Poem: “Walking On Faces” (2010)

The dim light
hangs.
I punctuate
silence.

The dark corner
calls.
I choose
a careful path.

The floor is populated:
metal faces cry,
grimace, countenance
the violence of my gait,

clanking
     protests;
     warnings;
     death-cries.

I enter
the heart.
The ceiling is low
at my head.

Brutal steps
ring sharp
in my ears.

Detachment dies in
     protests;
     warnings;
     death-cries.

I choose
a path of return,
for which I am.

I remember
the dead
only through force,
clanks and cries.

What is my alibi?
What is my alibi?

Published as lyrics for Cindervoice’s Before the Turn LP, 2010. Spurred by Menashe Kadishman’s “Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves)” installation at the Jüdisches Museum Berlin (Jewish Museum, Berlin); video here.