Abdulah Sidran

Why Venice Is Sinking

***

I look at the sky over Venice.

Nothing’s changed for the last seven billion years.

God’s up there. He created the universe and then

the seven billion worlds in it and in every world innumerable nations,

a babel of tongues, but only one Venice.

He made each nation different, whispering: “Now get acquainted.”

He gave them foreign language to get better acquainted with,

making them all, by this means, richer and better.

He made Venice the way he did birds and fish,

just like that, so people and nations would come to believe in him,

being, of course, thunderstruck by what he could do.

I look at the sky over Venice. Up there and everywhere – is God.

The only one. He created the universe,

seven billion worlds in the universe, and every world

filled with people and languages, to which he added

a single Venice. And in one world, upon a landmass known

as Europe, among the tribe of the southern Slavs, he placed

a small addenda. This is the border. Bosnia.

Bosnia, Bosnia. And here the Eastern cross and the Western cross,

formed of one cross, met and went to war.

But the Bosnians, being meek, took a third faith

and hewed to the unique God, the only One,

neither begotten, nor himself begetter,

Lord of the world, the Master of the Judgement Day.

I look at the sky over Venice. Worldly rulers

have decided that Bosnians should be – nowhere.

Venice is sinking. Europe is sinking. The cradle is sinking.

Roses in Murano glass vases are sinking. Murano

is sinking. Hotel rooms are sinking and

the Dead Poets Society is sinking. Why doesn’t the world need

Bosnians? Amongst colours – one colour less?

Amongst scents – one scent less? Why doesn’t the world need

Venice? Amongst wonders – one wonder less?

I look at the sky over this earthly world.

In a long arc, a single star is breaking up, right down through

the bottomless universe, falling, it seems, right into the Grand Canal.

This ordinary world, among seven billion celestial worlds,

is about to become poorer by a whole people.

Its worldly rulers appear to have so decided.

In the universe, therefore, a single falling star.

And Venice is sinking. The universe will be poorer by a whole world.

That is the will of the Lord of the worlds,

the will of the Master of Judgement Day.

***

Glen Campbell - Sadly Beautiful