Children of the Sun and the Wind - Mohammed Ebnu

We still live
on the brink of nothingness,
between the north and south of the seasons

We still sleep
on stone pillows,
like our fathers

We still follow the same clouds,
resting in the shadows of thorn trees

We still drink down our tea while swallowing fire
and we walk barefoot not to frighten the silence

And in the distance
at the edge of the mirage
we still watch, every evening
the sun fall into the sea

And the same woman greets us
while she posts lookout for the dusk
in the middle of the map

She greets us, then is lost
in the eyes of a child
smiling from the lap of eternity

And we still wait
for a new dawn
We still wait to begin again

---

Mohammed Ebnu (born 1968) Western Sahara
Translated by Tom Boll and The Poetry Translation Workshop
Source: The Poetry Translation Centre