I hear my mother’s voice
Telling me
Everything is for sale
In the dusty souq.

Everything, indeed,
But how to bargain back
My life?

In a trance
I walk up a narrow street of stalls,
Strings of faint lights
Casting an incandescent glow
In the warm, starless night.

If I buy
What shal it be?
No more do I want things
That last forever.

The glances
Of a spice seller
And his dreamy-eyed daughter
Slowly awaken me.
Their eyes bid me buy.

At last, I strike a bargain for the spices,
Cinnamon, tumeric and cumin,
Ras el hanout, pepper and ginger,
Paprika, bright red as poppies,
Saffron for a lifetime.
With a wink and a smile
He throws in three nutmeg.

Save the nutmeg for awhile,
For the memory of their smiles.
Cook with some
Share the rest,
No more do I want things
That last forever.

I am travelling through
From here
To there.