Exhortation to the Village (8) - Ateif Khieri

Tomorrow the straitened wars
In darkness, suddenly,
the crates of fruit terrify

After two streets of grief
I know
Angels
and treacherous paths toward the lord

I know water before it is sullied,
cheapened by carefree mammals everyday

Piece by piece
I know despair in the form of a goat
I know the leavings of a homeless dove
before the horizon has had its fill

You believe in the sea
We preserve the story in salt
I believe in the sun and a split head
in wearing camouflage at a time of peace

In the caress of your hand, a soprano,
an aerial quivering on the roof of the village

---

Ateif Khieri (born 1967) Sudan
Translated by Samuel Wilder and The Poetry Translation Workshop
Source: The Poetry Translation Centre