Palestinian Poetry Blogging
On The Slope, Higher Than The Sea, They Slept
On the slope, higher than the sea, higher than the cypress, they slept.
The iron sky erased their memories, and the dove flew away
in the direction of their pointing fingers, east of their torn bodies.
Weren't they entitled to throw the basil of their names on the moon in the water?
And plant bitter orange trees in the ditches to dispel the darkness?
They sleep beyond the limits of space, on a slope where words turn to stone.
They sleep on a stone carved from the bones of their phoenix.
One heart can celebrate their feast in nearly no time.
Our heart can steal a place for doves to return to earth's bedrock.
O kin sleeping within me, at the ends of the earth: Peace be upon you! Peace.
From Fewer Roses (1986) by Mahmoud Darwish
Translated by Munir Akash and Carolyn Forché
On The Slope, Higher Than The Sea, They Slept
On the slope, higher than the sea, higher than the cypress, they slept.
The iron sky erased their memories, and the dove flew away
in the direction of their pointing fingers, east of their torn bodies.
Weren't they entitled to throw the basil of their names on the moon in the water?
And plant bitter orange trees in the ditches to dispel the darkness?
They sleep beyond the limits of space, on a slope where words turn to stone.
They sleep on a stone carved from the bones of their phoenix.
One heart can celebrate their feast in nearly no time.
Our heart can steal a place for doves to return to earth's bedrock.
O kin sleeping within me, at the ends of the earth: Peace be upon you! Peace.
From Fewer Roses (1986) by Mahmoud Darwish
Translated by Munir Akash and Carolyn Forché
Labels: Fewer Roses, Mahmoud Darwish, Palestine
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