Thursday 18 November 2010

Travel Tickets


Samih al-Qasim (b.1939) is a Palestinian Druze poet living in Haifa.

تذاكر سفر

وعندما أٌقتَل في يومٍ من الأيام
سيَعثُر القاتل في جيبي
على تذاكِرِ السفر:
واحدة الى السلام
واحدة الى الحقول والمطر
واحدة
الى ضمائر البشر
ارجوك الّا تُهمِل التذاكر )
يا قاتلي العزيز
(..ارجوك ان تسافر
Travel Tickets

On the day you kill me
You'll find in my pocket
Travel tickets
To peace,
To the fields and the rain,
To people's conscience.
Don't waste the tickets.

(translation Abdullah al-Udhari)

I highly recommend this book for a selection of his works: 'Victims of a Map: A Bilingual Anthology of Arabic Poetry'

An interesting interview with him here.

I really love his poetry so I'll post some more soon.

This poem is very special to me. I've memorised it and it's become almost like a prayer. I recite it to myself sometimes. To me it says that our actions and the actions of others - whether good or bad - make us who we are. It tells me that when we part from a loved one, however difficult the circumstances, we should learn the maximum possible from the situation. We should always treasure the love and positive energy offered to us, and use it to take us forward.

1 comment:

  1. Provides walking, cycling or driving directions to your destination or indicates nearest gas stations, parking, or ATM. https://portugalurlaub.tumblr.com/post/156628963198/porto-street-photography

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