Nightwalk by Antoine Cassar

WALKING IN THE DAYS OF THE VIRUS #3

Another plane whining above as I step out the door Another aluminium winged horse  ridden by the Virus coronising the continents flight by flight Will the sun ever set on this microbial empire FUN FACT!  Around 50% of the air  in aircraft ventilation systems is recirculated To fly is to walk the plank blindfolded arms tied but hands still free to pull others down with you  The very same plane from Brussels to Malta not taken by a dear relative (thanks to teleconferencing) turned an innocent young girl  into an invisible blade  Meanwhile a certain minister who proposed citizenship for robots dares to speak of deportations This nightwalk will be a long one Try your best not to break into a vociferous trot Music in the ears again A new Maltese album No singing this time Don’t know the lyrics anyhow Keep the volume low so you can listen out for sirens especially whenever you stop to bring out this notebook They might think you’re jotting down car number plates or addresses of empty homes As I walk past the cemetery gate a cat! A black cat! The second cat I’ve seen in this street in two whole years Pejxa, pejxxx, pxx-pxx-pxx-pxx The cat sprints towards me rubs against my leg rolls over so I can stroke his belly all in the space of five seconds Pejxa, mhux se mmissek I won’t touch you much as I’d like to but tell me, what did it take for them to let you out? At the end of the street an empty bus waits for no one In the ears “Ħallik mit-tgħanniq”  Forget about hugging  Good timing Mario good timing An oncoming couple Do I shift to the left or to the right Left it is The feet decided before the mind A quick doff of the hat yet again unanswered They did look concerned, but still I do not want to die in this country Of all the places I could have been locked down in LËTZEBUERG Perfect for social distancing but little point in being relatively safe if my love is in another time zone Were I to drive towards London would there be roadblocks would they let me through is the tunnel still open Twan, forget it 13 flights in two months The hugs can wait Rue des Trèves, uphill The chewing gum on the back of my tongue makes me cough inadvertently Two young men ahead of me freeze then change direction … …  … …  Passing a block of flats the automatic light at the entrance makes me jump and cover my eyes … …  … …   I might start swearing soon Maybe a bit of sticker hunting  will calm me down JIDDER      STROOSS  AS ENG      D  N  P  S        A  Z  I  T Every street is a dance floor Too right especially now I can air jam like a fool from pavement to pavement as freely as ever TAX-REFUGEES WELCOME Entering rue Auguste Lumière fourteen years  and a few heartbreaks later HORDA ULTRAS METZ - TRiBUNE EST How bored they must be these days Number 12, second floor The first flat I lived in when I came to sell my soul  for food and books Weekends of poetry, music, roll-ups with the windows open wide to hear the late summer thunder Alex, u dik il-mixja? Kevin, agħmilha vjola Police HQ round the corner The closer I get the more I need to clear my throat A sticker of a flamingo head and a speech bubble: “Stay low”  Yes, yes Do not fly When outside don’t be too visible and whatever you do do not cough (Double checking to make sure this sticker isn’t an advert - there will be no product placement in these notebooks) In the ears again “Agħfasni għax risposta m’għandix” Hold me tight for I have no answers Breathe in Breathe out Rounding the corner the tickle in the throat  now a prickly pear Fuck it If coughing is an act of defiance here goes Bang in the middle of the road no traffic to be heard Aħħmm aħħmm  Aħħħmm aħħħmm aħħħmmm I haven’t been this scared to cough since the age of 8 hiding behind the christmas tree  right before my parents  so spectacularly broke up I stare into the asphalt One last cough Thank goodness I’m far from them now Thank goodness I’m far from them now Throat now clear Twan, let’s go inside there’s still soup left from yesterday and you could really do with a drink Downhill now air drumming all the way till the end of the album "Hemm bżonn nieqaf nhewden inħoll l-għoqda fi griżmejja” I need to stop ruminating and untie the knot in my throat Iva, iva, iva Yes, yes, yes A yellow lichen heart  on the bark of a tree Two in fact Guess who I’m sending them to Another lichen heart about 50 metres down the street My eyes have been honed to this skill for four years now Aaah to go heart-hunting together along the River Lea or on the island of Vir Back in my street Past the cemetery gate Out come the earphones Suddenly I realise how loud my steps are how strident the keys in my hand yet my breath  is no heavier than usual

Reposted from: https://antoinecassar.net/2020/03/18/walking-in-the-days-of-the-virus-3/?fbclid=IwAR29vHuVX2I24w0VwrfI8wwyM97QrEFlZuQJBSHG_XhGybaRETRZbdwHpqg with the author's permission.