Hostname: page-component-54dcc4c588-54gsr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-04T15:19:35.945Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The silk road

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 February 2024

Tarek Zieneldien*
Affiliation:
College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
*
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Information

Type
Poetry
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press.
I would have journeyed the Silk Road
From Chang’an to Constantinople
To find a trader with a cure
For the growths in your heart
I would have traded all of my lapis lazuli
I would have slept in Dunhuang’s caravanserais
Dwelling in the fantasia sung by the sand grains
And followed the slowly fading footsteps in my fever dreams
For the hope of a better prognosis
But the disease is too heterogeneous
It’s a shapeshifter eager to spread
Like invasive weeds in fertile verdant lands
So even though I cannot go on that journey
I will hold your hand
And ensure you do not explore these newfound times alone

Competing interests

The author declares no conflicts of interest.