Losses
Adeeb Kamal Ad-Deen
1
My losses are no longer unbearable.
No sooner do I come out of a loss
Then I fall into another.
I – for example – died,
Died a long time ago
And had enough death.
When I decided to rise from my death,
Dressed green rather than black
Ride the cloud instead of the bicycle,
I was shocked
By the corruption of the cloud
And the tear of its underwear.
2
My losses are no longer unbearable.
I have gone into fire and got burnt well enough.
When I rose up from my ashes
And gathered my ashes
And sprayed in my blood
Lest I might newly die,
I was shocked to know
That those who threw me into fire
Were my friends to whom
I gave the light of the green
And my beloved people to whom
I granted the sun of the cloud.
So, I got puzzled as I had not had
Myself ready for the role of a redeemer.
And I did not imagine that Judas’s role
Would be re-shown everywhere with great success.
3
My losses are no longer unbearable.
When I thought over the names of cities
I found them similar to death.
And when I thought over the names of rains,
Wounds, thunderbolts and women
I grew puzzled
Because my body that rose up
From its death dozens of times
And my heart that resisted
The storm, the blood, and the gold
Wept before me as two orphan children
And complained to me of the lost dream.
They screamed because of the lost dream,
They went down streets like any crazy couple.
So what else could I do but uncover;
My losses are no longer unbearable
No longer … no longer …unbearable.
Thus I will uncover
The rearrangement of the rivers,
Make them run from the south to the north
To reduce my pains.
I will rearrange the clouds
Make them travel by mail
To reduce my childhood’s nakedness.
I will rearrange the tears
make them more mysterious
To satisfy the longing of my gold towers.
So nobody can observe my crying
And nobody can rejoice at my disaster.
[T M ]