We had chased them
because they held the words
still tangled with seaweed, with earth
or attached to spears.
because they held the words
still tangled with seaweed, with earth
or attached to spears.
They sleep at our doors, hunched,
the messengers that we had overtaken
when we were surrounded by too much light.
Wake them, since here is yet another force
that the words, where paths cross,
can wrest from the beast
for our tears on raised heads.
that the words, where paths cross,
can wrest from the beast
for our tears on raised heads.
Let’s call them each by their name:
it is us who should still
rub our eyes at their stars,
we the receivers.
it is us who should still
rub our eyes at their stars,
we the receivers.
Listen to them who say already:
“Here we are returned, here are the mirrors
for pride to kill nothing.”
“Here we are returned, here are the mirrors
for pride to kill nothing.”
Mohamed Sehaba (born 1952) Algeria
Translated by Yolande Schutter
Source: Translations of Mohamed Sehaba, Yolande G. Schutter, Living in Languages, Volume 1, Fall 2021, Article 7, 2021 [Creative Commons Non-Commercial 4.0 International License]
Translated by Yolande Schutter
Source: Translations of Mohamed Sehaba, Yolande G. Schutter, Living in Languages, Volume 1, Fall 2021, Article 7, 2021 [Creative Commons Non-Commercial 4.0 International License]
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