for R. A.
With you here I can’t write
You burn so deep
Like cauterising ancient injuries
Healing, opening, healing deeper
Opening healing deeper.
A torchlight on the hidden
Carving into stone
What I dare not think.
And today we had another walk,
Another clearing,
Another time among the trees
The place where you are braving
Standing up to yourself
With yourself.
In the bravery of stepping out
Or stepping up
Is sometimes not about saving a life
But saving your own.
With yourself
What wavering trees
Deep rooted, only bending at leaf edge,
Blooming bright on a clear day
When you’re here I can’t write
Anything
But my deepest truth
Jamie Zubairi 