Sindh, how can I forget?

After Amal Al Sahlawi

Do not ask me to wash
my skin of this dust, this gold,
this blood-laced soil—

Home is where the mango tree
remembers the laughter of پرناني
where kisses she bestowed
on her many ٻارن
rest as fragrant prayers in the walls.

I would live in these rags forever,
the scents of سِنڌ‎ haunting me.
I would inscribe the names
of corpses I’ve seen
in silver sigils on my tongue.

I will look up,
searching for محبوب ستارو
above this unfamiliar land,
pale and insipid,
a caricature of home.

～

پرناني – parnaani – great-grandmother
ٻارن – baaran – children
سِنڌ‎ – Sindh
محبوب ستارو – mahbub sitaro – beloved stars