Yahya Al-Samawi /  Australia

* Mon. 01 / 01 / 2007

 My Love Humiliated Me

 * Pearl Tree 2

Other

Biography

 

Yahya Al-Samawi

Born in 1949, has been living as a political refugee in Australia. The author of more than eight collections, he has been largely concerned in his latest works with political themes, which address, among other issues, Iraq’s predicament in the years following the Gulf War and his opposition to the regime. Note his reference to the massacred homeland and the Tartars (a symbol used primarily for external invaders.)

 

 
 



My love humiliated me
So did my wound that extends from the palm tree’s
braids
To the people’s bread
And when the Tartars one night besieged me
I crossed the wall of the massacred homeland
Anxiety was my provision
Terror was my water
I roamed the fires of the East
The gardens of the West
With no companions
Except residues of my home’s ashes
The clay of the Euphrates and Tigris
Splattered on my clothes
I searched for my childhood
In the memory of days
In the refuse of oppressive wars
Seeking my city
Looking for my beloved among this age’s captives
Uncovering my roots
A sweet enchanting Euphrates
Suddenly I saw a palm tree on a sidewalk
I shook it
Tears flowed down over my face
And when I shook the earth’s trunk
Oh God
Iraq surges in my heart.
 

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© Translated by professor Salih J Altoma
 

 
 

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