Palestinian Poetry Blogging

Wind Shifts Against Us

Winds shift against us. The southern wind blows with our enemies.
The passage narrows.
We flash victory signs in the darkness, so that the darkness may glitter.
We fly as if riding the trees of a dream. O ends of the earth! O difficult
dream! Will you go on?
For the thousandth time we write on the last breath of fresh air. We die so they do not prevail!
We run after the echo of our voices. May we find a moon there.
We sing for the rocks. May the rocks be startled.
We engrave our bodies with iron for a river to billow up.
Winds shift against us. North wind with southern wind, and we shout:
Where can we settle?
We ask mythical women for relatives who would rather see us dead.
An eagle settles on our bodies, and we chase after dreams. May we find them.
They soar behind us to find us here. There is no escape!

We live our death. This half-death is our triumph.

From Fewer Roses (1986) by Mahmoud Darwish

Translated by Munir Akash and Carolyn Forché