Earth is Narrowing Around Us
Mahmoud Darwish
Earth is narrowing around us
Forcing us into the last passage
So we take off our body parts to pass through
Earth is squeezing us
If only we were its wheat to die and live again
If only she were our mother to have mercy upon us
If only we were images of the rocks
our dream will carry as mirrors
We saw the faces
of those the last of us will kill
in the final defense of our soul
We cried for their children’s feast
We saw the faces
of those who will throw our children
out of the windows of this last space
mirrors our star will polish
Where do we go after the last borders?
Where do birds fly after the last sky?
Where do plants sleep after the last air?
We will write our names in crimson mist
We will sever the anthem’s hand
our flesh will finish it
We will die here
Here in this last passage
Here or here
Our blood will plant its olive trees
[Translated from the Arabic by Sinan Antoon. From Wardun Aqall (Dar Tubqal, 1986)]