Existence - Fadwa Tuqan

In life, I was a question without home;

      In the enfolding darkness,

      My answer was concealed.

And you were to me the radiance of a new light,

      From the darkness of the unknown,

      Revealed by fate.

The stars rotated around it,

Rotated twice...

Until it came to me,

That unique radiance.

The blackness broke

And in two tremors

I found in my hand

My missing answer.

Oh you, oh you near and far,

Don't remember the fading

Of your spirit in flames.

My universe and yours,

Ours, the two poets;

Despite the great distance,

Existence unites the two.

---

Fadwa Tuqan (1971 - 2003) Palestine

Translated by Charlie Huntington

Source: 'Despite the great distance, existence unites the two: Translating the poetry of Fadwa Tuqan,' Franklin Huntington, Senior Honors Linguistics Thesis, Swarthmore College, Leeds, UK