"the sun came out at night / to go for a stroll"
May your morning be saturated with color.
Adi Atassi, Syrian
At 2 PM in the Afternoon (Excerpts)
by Etel Adnan, translated by Sarah Riggs
the sun came out at night
to go for a stroll and the divine crossed
the room. the windows
opened
writing comes from a dialogue
with time: it’s made
of a mirror in which thought
is stripped and no longer knows
itself
in Palermo men are as
strictly trained as horses; or
else they have the shining violence of
flowers
*
it’s more bearable to think of
death than of love
Greek thought explored
all things the way it
explored the islands
when men no longer have
power over women, over whom
will they have it?
*
all Sicily is painted
by the planting
of vines
the shards of grief that a teapot
transforms into inexpressible joy
the Barbary figs ripen
on brilliant mornings, with firm flesh,
with certain steps
by Etel Adnan, translated by Sarah Riggs, from Time, Nightboat Books, 2019
Creative Invitations
1. Choose an exact time of day. Imagine four different things that are
happening at the exact same time, in different scales of distance.
Look at the artwork of Adi Atassi by following the link under the painting above. Choose an image you like and draw in response to it. Use only six colors of marker.