In the valley of shadows, I lay her down

A love that could not stay.

As I drive away, instinct reminds me not to speed

Her letters in my back pocket would give the game away.

The only child of a poor Bedouin, cursed at age ten

To never stay for more than a year and a day.

There comes a stage when life’s raffle takes all breath away

Your numbers up, the spirit calls

The buzzer sounds and down you fall.

Before my strength is gone

I will finish what I started.

My words blow across the valley floor

I tell her that I will not leave her there

I will wait a year and a day

Find a way to break the curse.

I promise her we will live together

For more than a year and a day…

Anita Dawes