Friday, November 19, 2004

Descending from Karmil by Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwish (my translation):
(Part I)
To a day that specifies me a arendezvouz,
I said to Karmil: Now I depart.
And the sea spreads between the sky
and the entrance to my wound
And I go toward a horizon
that bows down over us, and prays
for us, or breaks it. This land
resembles us
when we come to it.
And it resembles us when
we depart from it.
I left its features behind me,
and its name was walking
in front of me
calling its features and my
explosion. I left the
maternity bed
I left a tomb prepared
for any talk...
I left that who was pained
by my hand.
I left that whose hands hurt me.
Looking for a lover five minutes
after my departure.
To a day that specifies me
a rendezvous, I said to the Karmil:
Now I depart.
The bullet passes near
my forehead, and it collects me
like the kiss collects the lips
And a pomegranate is born
between the rocks that domesticated
me, and it makes me lovers
far away..far away.
And the sea spreads between the sky
and the entrance to my wound...
(to be continued)