BARAKAT

beyond hangovers

A man so drunk
he slipped into his own bottle.
A bottle big enough,
transparent enough —
so how could he realize
he is in a bottle?

And one day, inside his crystal cave,
tired of all that rave “he used to call “i am”” ,
he felt blue,
nostalgic for something he never knew.

So he opens another bottle —
a bottle in a bottle
in a bottle in a bottle
in him.

He drinks again,
telling himself:

“But today I will consider
looking at the filled part of the cup.”

Then he starts to sing:

“دع عنك لومي فإن اللوم إغراء
وداوني بالتي كانت هي الداء”

“Leave aside your blame, for blame is but a temptation.
And heal me with that which once was my ailment.”

— Abu Nuwas (756–814 CE), Baghdad’s poet of wine and longing

cheers

Barakat