The Rose Sellers of Üsküdar
By Enesa Mahmić
Wise gypsy women with their hands full of roses
looking for weakness in the eyes of men
- instinct brought to perfection
That who smiles will not carry on without a bouquet
Fresh flowers, fresh breeze from the Bosphorus
Our hands, ravenous hunger
Grabbing anxiously from the present
Storing for the autumn
When there is no heat, no giggles
Lovers are collectors
Constantly searching for valuables
Hoarding needless things
Wise gypsy women with their hands full of roses
Looking for melancholy in the eyes of women
- instinct brought to perfection
That who gets saddened will not pass without a withered rose
Red petals fall as fragile promises
They drag along the street
all over tourists
Through our embalmed lives
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Enesa Mahmić (1989) is an Bosnian writer based in Slovenia. She has published five poetry collections. Her work has appeared in anthologies such as Social Justice and Intersectional Feminism, University of Victoria (Canada), The Larger Geometry; I am strength (USA), We Refugees (Australia), QUEEN Global voices of 21th century female Poets (India), Le Voci della poesia (Italy), Writing Politics and Knowledge Production (Ireland \ Zimbabwe) and more. Intercultural writing, social justice, feminism and history are central to her work.
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