Halfway
ariel rosé
for Michel
And I stood among the trees with a plea, paths
brought me among the bright grasses or a call,
why this road ends halfway,
and what is the name of this bird that starts time.
The dunes formed into a story about people
who are gone or who leave in half words,
their dreams have dual meanings, and I keep calling
in their name, shadows blend in the sun.
I wanted to go far, to lose the shadow in the night,
the wind runs across the grass, it is not some new
twist, like a road leading me in a dance to the very end,
where the sea sings about the beginning.
Ariel Rosé
Polish-Norwegian transgender poet, essayist, illustrator, author of the books morze nocą jest mięśniem serca (the sea at night is a muscle of the heart), PIW, 2022, and Północ Przypowieści (North: Parables), Znak, 2019. His work appeared in: Asymptote Journal, Arrowsmith Journal, River Heron Review in the States. He is a member of the Literary Union and the Association of Literary Translators in Poland, PEN Berlin in Germany, Litteratur på Blå in Oslo, Norway, and Circolo Scandinavo in Rome, Italy. Twice a year he invites poets from underrepresented countries to Oslo. ariel has two books forthcoming: Ukraine–A Polyphony and Ways of Swimming. rosé is also co-editor of Both Sides Face East/Durable Words (Academic Studies Press, 2025).