#dying prayer

[lifeinpoetry]

I was an animal, howling on all fours. With every movement, an uncontrolled, ugly wail escaped my body. I was an animal, no room for any human in my ugly pain.

— Moshtari Hilal, from "Dying Prayer," Ugliness, tr. Elisabeth Lauffer

[lifeinpoetry]

Do you really not belong to me, dear body?

— Moshtari Hilal, from "Dying Prayer," Ugliness, tr. Elisabeth Lauffer

[lifeinpoetry]

Ugliness is repulsive no longer when it touches us, comes up close and enfolds us. When it falls to pieces and reaches those we know and respect, it robs us of any vanity and of the power to object.

— Moshtari Hilal, from "Dying Prayer," Ugliness, tr. Elisabeth Lauffer