Tiny Pink Roses

Tiny Pink Roses

"Kiheliwekiye" (chorus sung)*

Rouge pink of scorned women

Laden with soft pale breasts

See… this was not the pink of my mother’s tiny pink roses

Tiny pink roses

With soft petals

Thumbelina

Tiny pink pink roses

Infusing enticing scents

Clean like index fingers pressing down unspoken well wishes

Onto closed lips

Tiny pink roses

Meant for tea parties

And little girls birthdays

With Frilly dresses

The pink of tulle skirts and ballet shoes with dancing ribbons

Tender petals with a soft golden glow

Rosy

This was the pink of my mother’s tiny .. pink .. roses

Kihiliwelkiye (chorus)*

Seasons transfigure into

Broken marble and drafty rooms

A mother’s roses brown

I resented this

I resented this loss of childhood

Of happy innocence

I forget that the love between roses is born of hardship

A picturesque beauty tinged pink

From sorrow and pain

For now I keep them crushed between palms.

Tiny pink roses

The pink fragrance settled beneath my skin

And flowing through my veins

Kiheliwekiye (Chorus)*

*Translation:

Kiheliwekiye is an Eritrean love song by beloved Tigrinya singer Abraham Afwerki. It is about a man who loves a woman whose life has been weighed down by many hardships. In the chorus he says, “If the world becomes too heavy, if life ever bothers you, if you are ever met with hardships, I’ll be there for you.”