I talk ceaselessLY
I talk ceaselessly about the subtle difference
between women and trees, about
the magic of the earth, about a country whose
stamp I have never seen in any passport.
I ask: Ladies and gentlemen,
is the earth of humans for all humans,
as you claim? Where then is my little hut,
and where am I? The assembly applauds.
Three extra minutes, three minutes of freedom
and recognition . . . the assembly has approved
our return, just as all chickens and
all horses return to a dream of stone.
I shake their hands, one by one, bow deeply . . .
and continue my journey to another
country where I speak about the difference
between a bubble and the rain and ask:
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
is the earth of humans for all humans?
Mahmoud Darwish, Palestine, 1941–2008
Translation: Benaissa Bouhmala-Germain Droogenbroodt
from “Less roses”, POINT Editions & Boekenplan 2009
Painting by Biagio Fortini, Italy
From the “Poetry without borders” project of the Ithaca Cultural Foundation in Spain, directed by the well-known international poet, translator, and publisher of modern poetry, GERMAIN DROOGENBROODT. Translation into Albanian by Irma Kurti.
