In Perugia’s medieval lanes
amongst indolent shadows and worn-out stones
time’s undertow is appalling
nectar for dreams
Exile follows uncouth, crushing rules
saves us from hail
scatters the harvest
I know I must neither choose
nor expect
I must only and only accept, take or leave
My day flows
to the borders of the night that,
amazed, sends me flying
into the swarming serpents’ nest of solitude
Mohamed Akalay
Born in Tangiers in 1944, Mohamed Akalay came to Italy for his university studies. He received a degree in Political Science in Perugia in 1972. Author of novels with political and social themes, as well as of numerous poetry collections, he also paints and sculpts and has had many one-man exhibitions. The poems published here are from the collection Ombre nascoste (Hidden Shadows).