The Lost Coyote
Heartless, this
soft snow
weighing on the
rooftops
gusting white
smoke
in the wind
tormenting the
ghosts on the bare branches
taciturn trees
hallucinating
kindness
scarce in the
winter of life
forever awaiting
a spring already
gone by
unnoticed
like the lost
coyote.
Kafe Achiri
We met in Kafe
Achiri, where all
gossip about
each other, and no one
really listens
to each other – not even
Time, always
seated in the same corner
guarding life
while sipping a coffee
that some old
man bought it begging
for a few more
days, so he can
enjoy his
grandchildren, whom he does
not have, and
the colours of the buganvillae
hugging the
jasmine forever, releasing
her sweet
fragrance, even when the flowers
wither away.
Here in Kafe Achiri
everyone meets a
friend, even if one
is sad and
solitary. In this little hole near the
kasbah, history
is not written in books,
it is written on
the decorated
walls.
JOHN P. PORTELLI
JOHN P. PORTELLI is a professor
emeritus at the University of Toronto. Author of 11 academic books, 2
collections of short stories, and 2 novels. His latest poetry collection is The
Lost Coyote (2026). His work has been translated and published in 9 languages.
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