Pakistani Rooftop

by Marilla Hess

Sunshine
drying out roti,
shrill cry of a hawk,
chai, fine bone china,
black ink moving quickly
across a thick notebook,
palm trees, marigolds,
neighbor’s long shawl,
wet laundry thrown over the roof,
train horn,
dark hands weaving threads,
breeze sweeping through alleys,
children playing cricket,
hawks still screaming,
guards with empty guns
defending a rusty gate,
round windows in a concrete wall,
blue turret, gold spiral,
watchman whistles shrewdly,
smoky horizon,
hammers crushing bricks,
rickshaw and three goats,
a raucous horn, four times,
gunshots, a white balcony,
iron railing, olive grove,
chickens roaming on the roof,
red prayer rug,
two old women bowing West,
an English grammar,
sunshine.

---

Marilla loves new adventures, old folk songs, travel, and watching people overcome their fears.

---

Photography by Kenneth Godoy