ONCE
UPON A TIME
Elizabeth
Zelvin
once upon a time I walked through Timbuktu
city of sand, its hushed streets sifted fine, its
buildings
rounded like sandcastles shaped by tidal winds
peopled by Tuareg draped in indigo
I watched them drift beside their camels
toward the desert, the stone well and leather bucket
the salt mines that lie beyond the sunset
once upon a time I spent a week in Lahaina
wearing a white tuberose lei, hearing laughter
the breeze carrying music and the scent of food
sunset tinting the water, slate blue mountains
rising
not far from shore, humpback whales and their young
once upon a time I climbed the tower of Nôtre Dame
my young knees making nothing of the winding stair
or if I breathed a little faster at the top
it was worth it to say salut to the gargoyles
and stick out my tongue at Paris
once upon a time in Côte d'Ivoire, in Bouaké
when independence was long fought for, newly won
before the civil war, before the hate and anger
when nobody had a television and the nights
were for drinking and dancing, oh, the dancing
for two years I always fell asleep at night
to talking drums in every courtyard
all across the city chanting lullaby
it's not looking like much of a happily ever after
this grumbling planet is exhausted
me, I'm glad I had my once upon a time
now I'd like to ask for a generation longer
until my granddaughters have had their time
squeezed joy to the last sweet drop
embraced love and laughter and adventure
why is it so hard to hold on to the fire and flood
that's been baying for release since they were born
