Dhahran, October 1990
I am the man in the bathtub, calling you
from my ivory tank, a stubborn fish
stuck in a pond without water to protect
against gas and bomb, only a mirror to
busy line
reflect this solid tank, a stranded fish
in this rich place, no lack of anything
even gas and bomb, only a mirror to
see me talking, although missing you
dial tone
in a rich place with no lack of anything
is not the point. The mirror wall
shows me talking, and missing you
so far away means we’re tied together
ring tone
but that’s not the point. The mirror wall
makes everything bigger than it is,
you so far away and us not together,
but separation builds deeper ties,
ring tone
makes everything bigger than it is,
the sky truth blue, the sand heart gold,
and separation ties us deeper, builds us up
while the sun sulks red each night
empty line
my truth sky blue, my heart sand gold,
and their tiny half-heard voices make
my face wet red each night
without a bed time story
ring tone
and their tinny half-lost voices make
home a question, here in the safe house
without my bed time story
that home is family is home
ring tone
without family here in the safe house
with taped windows and CNN,
as my family makes home without me
and the heat reeks through the aircon,
busy line
licks the taped windows, and CNN keeps
those fighters coming in my dreams.
The heat seeps through the aircon
but your cool voice in my right ear
dial tone
says fighters are nothing but dreams,
and the pond without water will defend
and you are my voice, my right, my dear one,
and I am the man in the bathtub, calling you.
ring tone
Di Slaney
‘Suheil’s Song’ is part of The Songs of Saudi sequence. The three poems in this sequence were developed in collaboration with composer Omar Shahryar, and were based on recorded interviews with his mother, father and brother about their evacuation from Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War of 1990.