ROMEO AURELIAN ILIE

Holocaust

I am aging

with the speed of my

longing for you.

I will soon

turn to ashes.

It's Raining

It's raining

and everything is postponed

the dying as well as

the living and

the dreaming

All is wet

All is slippery

amidst hands

amidst legs

amidst looks

Desire

has withdrawn underneath the skin

pain has receded

amidst the teeth

The hearts have been

sealed up

the thoughts

have been covered

in molten led

It's raining

but not even the rain

can wash out

the blame

of us not

having loved each other.

Romeo Aurelian Ilie was born on February 27, 1988, in Slobozia, Ialomița, Romania. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the "Ovidius" University of Constanța and a master's degree in theology at the University of Bucharest. Since 2008, he has been publishing poetry, book reviews, and literary and theological essays in various cultural magazines, including: Timpul (Iași, Bucharest), Timpul din România, the Moldovan edition (Chișinău), Bucovina literară (Suceava), Poesis International (Bucharest), Dilema Veche (online edition), Planeta Babel (Bucharest), Fragmented Voices (Czech Republic), A Too Powerful Word (Serbia), New York Magazine (U.S.A.), Kametsa (Peru). Some of his poems have been translated into English, Spanish, Italian, German, and Hebrew. In 2018, he debuted with the volume of poems, Forty-one. Me, the deaf-mute at the Tracus Arte Publishing House, after winning the "1, 2, 3 and" award at the "Traian T. Coșovei" National Debut Prize in Poetry. The following volumes of poems: Father's tear, (Literary Betting House, 2022) and The silence of the next day (Charmides Publishing House, 2024).