The wandering reed
Fawzi el-Asmar
Of what benefit is it, if man were to gain the whole world
But lose the green almond in his father's orchard?
Of what benefit is it, if man
Were to drink coffee in Paris
But none in his mother's house?
Of what benefit is it, if man were to tour the whole world
But lose the flowers on the hills of his native land?
He gains nothing but deadly silence
Within the hearts of the living.
You look through the mirror of lands not your own
And see your exiled face;
You recognize your face
Despite the deadly dust of travel
From Jaffa, to Lyddah, to Haifa,
Through the Mediterranean to exile;
You recognize your face
And try to deny that face!
You worship your own face
Even though exile has obliterated its features;
The hangman of the twentieth century assumes the countenance
Of the eternal face!
You close your eyes
To worship your face in the darkness of this century.
You deny. ..you worship,
You deny. ...you worship,
And the god of truth cries to your face:
"He who denies his face
Is renounced by all the birds of paradise in this universe,
And those whom silence has turned mute
Will never be heard by the roses of the field.
He who kills the nightingale of his dreams
Will be buried in the forgotten graveyard of the living."
you open your eyes
And see the face of your country in the mirror of exile.
The deadly silence in the hearts of the living
Strips away the skin of your face;
It cuts and dries your flesh,
Then hangs what remains on poles
Under the forgotten sun of the West.