Billiards in Malta: A poem by Boris Novak

BILLIARDS IN MALTA:
A MIRRORING MEMORY OF DAPHNE CARUANA GALIZIA 

1          Monday, October 16th, 2017, was a usual working day for Malta.
2          The weather was warm, 24ºC, the Sun unloaded its light shipload.
3          The northeaster played billiards chasing little clouds over the blue altar.

4          At 3 PM an invisible billiard cue stick flicked a car from the road.
5          After the blast Peugeot 108 simply vanished from the asphalt.
6          A car crash? A slip down? Broken brakes? Who knows? That's Malta.

7          People froze in shining shelters, seagulls panicked squeaking their alt.
8          Nobody knew what happened. Everybody knew. The world came to a halt.
9          In Malta billiard players always disappear into the blue.

10        A young man came running from the neighbouring house. That's Matthew.
11        Tin projectiles digged shallow, smouldering craters like in a sci-fi.
12        80 metres from the road Matthew found scattered remains of his mother

13        Daphne Caruana Galizia. She was a journalist. And that is why

12        80 meters from the road Matthew found scattered remains of his mother.
11        Tin projectiles digged shallow, smouldering craters like in a sci-fi.
10        Three young men will always search for their mother: Andrew, Paul & Matthew.

9          In Malta billiard players with their billi000ns always disappear into the blue.
8          Nobody ever knows. Everybody knows. The world comes to a halt.
7          People freeze in shining shelters, seagulls panick squeaking their alt.

6          A car crash? A slip down? Broken brakes? Who knows? That's Malta.
5          After the blast Peugeot 108 simply vanished from the asphalt.
4          At 3 PM an invisible billi000n cue stick flicked a car from the road.

3          The northeaster gained billi000ns chasing little zer000es over the blue altar.
2          The weather was warm, 24ºC, the Sun unloaded its light shipload.
1          Monday, October 16th, 2017, was a usual working day for Malta. 

Boris A. Novak is a Slovene poet, essayist, playwright, translator and PEN International Vice-President.

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