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Saturday, 14 November 2020

I'm Calling You - Ahmed Kaabour

I'm calling you1
I shake your hands
I kiss the ground beneath your feet2
And say, "I will redeem you"3

I dedicated to you the light of my eyes4
And I give you the warmth of my heart
And the tragedy that I live 
      is that my fate is the same as yours

I have not become worthless in my country
Nor have I shrunk in fear
I stood in the face of my oppressors
A naked, barefoot orphan

I've carried my blood on my hands 
      and never half-masted my flags
And I've preserved the green grass 
      on the graves of my ancestors

Ahmed Kaabour [Ahmed Qabour] (born 1955) Lebanon
Translator not stated
  1. "You" is plural
  2. "feet" - lit "soles"
  3. "redeem" - i.e. be prepared to die for
  4. In the sense of giving up one's life
Based on poem written in 1966 by Tawfiq Ziad

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