Psalm 10

Psalm 10

Mahmoud Darwish Translated by: Denys Johnson-Davies/The Music of Human Flesh. The lengthy state of dying Has taken me back to a street in the suburbs of childhood, Has brought me into houses, Into hearts, Into ears of wheat, Has given me an identity. It has made me into a cause, The lengthy state of dying. It used to seem to them That I was dead, and crime was mortgaged in songs,             So they passed by and did not utter my name.             They buried my cropse in files and coups d'état, And went away. (And the country I used to dream of will remain the country I was dreaming of.) It was a short life And a long death And I awakened for a while And wrote the name of my land on my corpse And on a gun I said: This is my path And this my guide To the coastal cities. And I departed But they killed me.             They buried my corpse in files and coups d'état and went away.             (And the country I used to dream of will remain the country I was dreaming of   I, in the lengthy state of dying, Am the master of sadness And the tear of every Arab girl in love. The singers and orators have grouped themselves around me And on my cropse sprout poetry and leaders And all the brokers of patriotic language. Clap Clap Clap And long live The lengthy state of dying. The lengthy state of dying His taken me back to a street in the suburbs of childhood, Has brought me into houses, into hearts, into ears of wheat, Has made me into a cause, Has given me an identity And a legacy of chains. Zajel / An-Najah National University