Katia Hage
Jeanne Bessette
A mere existence
the woman merely existed
in the eyes or the stones
emptiness of aliveness
scraping down
its hollow body
of meatless bones
tightness of twitches
respond
beyond the mind
to habits
imprinted on the skin
like a tattoo
which stubbornly
pierces its blackened nails
into bloodied meat
chains of an unseen cell
in a world
of freedom of choice
To a cypress
I have touched your rugged skin
With my warm bosom
Telling you secrets
Hidden in the depth of my soul
As I ran up the hill
You saw my shadow
Drew in my scent
Leaning your face
To caress my hair
Tightly pressed on my head
Whispered in wonder
Where my curls disappeared
You did not mind
The beads of sweat
Trickle through my light shirt
Showing the woman
I will be one day
Carrying children
On hips
Swinging to the sound of the wind
Rustle of leaves
You knew what was to come
How will I shed my skins
Through dark nights
And bright moons
How I will not know you
Till the distances grew far
And farther away
Until the day I ran up the hill
To find you
Waiting with an infinite longing
For my eyes to remember
My soul to connect
Again
To the child that scurried
Jumped
Was swept away
By the incense of your holiness
Droplets of gold
Oozing from your loving heart
To the fingers of Taita (grandma)
Who picked each one
Reverently
Made glue in a pan
Books from torn papers
Stories from broken lives
Mended the sadness
With a joy overflowing
In silent whispers
From the hills
The flowers
The vegetables
All different in shapes and colors
Slowly ripening under her care
As I was
Slowly learning
From her wrinkles
Of the long enduring battles
The reverence of solitude
The silent conversations of being
Present
In the sun’s rays
Ever lining the spider’s web
Perfectly knit
On your limbs
Where I reached
To cover you with kisses
Searing tears
For it has been long
Since I ran up that hill
To fall happily
In your shadows
Born in Cameroun, raised in Lebanon during the civil War, Katia Aoun Hage moved to the United States where she resides with her husband and three children. Graduated from the University of Redlands with a Masters in Music Education, Katia is not a stranger in the Inland Empire art scene of Inland Southern California. She has collaborated with choreographer Sofia Carrera at Riverside Community College, performed poetry and music at California State University San Bernardino, displayed her artwork at Art for Heaven's Sake and performed music in local venues. Katia Aoun Hage listens deeply to the voices inside, of her own people and hers, becoming a bridge between past and present, east and west, through her poetry, translations and artwork.