David Morley

marime vôrdòn

The Roma are torching her proud vardo in mirnomos.
The yag leaps into the bóro and billows in mirnomos.
Páto, tsáliya, pátura: her possessions flare in mirnomos.
Her raklo shuffles her bánka, palms them out in mirnomos.
The yag leaps into the bóro and billows in mirnomos.

Her lurcher is nashaval from the kámpo in mirnomos.
Her raklo shuffles her bánka, palms them out in mirnomos.
The zhukûl peers and peers from the wûsh in mirnomos.
Her lurcher is nashaval from the kámpo in mirnomos.
Pàrrâ towers to its kríza, collapses in mirnomos.

The zhukûl peers and peers from the wûsh in mirnomos.
The Roma rake and rake the skrúma in mirnomos.
Pàrrâ towers to its kríza, collapses in mirnomos.
Their vardos circle the field. They vanish in mirnomos.
The Roma rake and rake the skrúma in mirnomos.

What the Roma do not say to each other is buried in mirnomos.
Their vardos circle the field. They vanish in mirnomos.
Páto, tsáliya, pátura: everything burns in mirnomos.
What the Roma do not say to each other is buried in mirnomos.
The Roma are torching her vardo. Everything must burn.

After death, the home and belongings of a Roma Gypsy are considered mahrime, ‘unclean’, and are burnt. Romani: English: marime vôrdòn: contaminated wagon; vardo: Gypsy caravan; mirnomos: silence; yag: fire; bóro: oak; páto: bed; tsáliya: clothing; pátura: bedclothes; raklo: son; bánka: banknotes; nashaval: chased away; kámpo: camp; zhukûl: hound; wûsh: woodland; pàrrâ: flames; kríza: crisis; skrúma: ashes.