Mahmoud Darwish

Palestine
2004 Principal Prince Claus Award
Translated by:
Ferial Ghazoul,
Saron !oulos,
"usain "addawi,
A#ira $l%&ein,
Sinan Antoon,
Clarissa !urt,
'unir A(ash,
Carolyn Forch)*
Prince Claus Fund +S+' ,C-. !A/
0or Culture and -e1elop#ent +nternational institute basis 1oor
0or the study o0 isla# actuele (unst
+n the #odern world
CONTENTS
2ere it up to #e to bein aain 2
2e tra1el li(e all people 3
+ tal( too #uch 4
They would lo1e to see #e dead 4
The (indhearted 1illaers 5
The owl6s niht 7
A rhy#e 0or the odes 8 #u6alla9at: ;0
The well ;2
As he wal(s away ;5
. "elen, what a rain ;<
$le1en planets in the last Andalusian s(y
7* !e a strin, water, to #y uitar 22
;;* =iolins 24
2ho a# +, without e>ile? 24
Four personal addresses
.ne s9uare #eter o0 prison 2@
A seat on a train 27
An intensi1e care roo# 2<
A roo# in a hotel 30
Aesson 0ro# the /a#a Sutra 3;
2
WERE IT UP TO ME TO BEGIN AGAIN
2ere it up to #e to bein aain, + would #a(e the sa#e choice* Boses on the 0ence*
+ would tra1el the sa#e roads that #iht or #iht not lead to Cordoba*
+ would lay #y shadow down on two roc(s, so that birds could nest on one o0 the bouhs*
+ would brea( open #y shadow 0or the scent o0 al#ond to 0loat in a cloud o0 dust
and row tired on the slopes* Co#e closer, and listen*
Share #y bread, drin( #y wine, don6t lea1e #e alone li(e a tired willow*
+ lo1e lands not trod o1er by sons o0 #iration, or beco#e subCect to passions o0 blood and
desire*
+ lo1e wo#en whose hidden desires #a(e horses put an end to their li1es at the threshold*
+0 + return, + will return to the sa#e rose and 0ollow the sa#e steps*
!ut ne1er to Cordoba*


3
WE TRAVEL LIKE ALL PEOPLE
2e tra1el li(e e1eryone else, but we return to nothin* As i0 tra1el were
a path o0 clouds* 2e buried our lo1ed ones in the shade o0 clouds and between roots o0 trees*
2e said to our wi1es: Give birth for hundreds of years, so that we may end this journey
within an hour of a country, within a meter of the impossible!
2e tra1el in the chariots o0 the Psal#s, sleep in the tents o0 the prophets, and are born aain in
the lanuae o0 Gypsies*
2e #easure space with a hoopoe6s bea(, and sin so that distance #ay 0oret us*
2e cleanse the #oonliht* Dour road is lon, so drea# o0 se1en wo#en to bear
this lon Courney on your shoulders* Sha(e the trun(s o0 pal# trees 0or the#*
Dou (now the na#es, and which one will i1e birth to the Son o0 Galilee*
.urs is a country o0 words: Tal(* Tal(* Aet #e rest #y road aainst a stone*
.urs is a country o0 words: Tal(* Tal(* Aet #e see an end to this Courney*
4
I TALK TOO MUCH
+ tal( too #uch about the slihtest nuance between wo#en and trees,
about the earth6s enchant#ent, about a country with no passport sta#p,
+ as(: Is it true, good ladies and gentlemen, that the earth of Man is for all human beings
as you say? In that case, where is my little cottage, and where am I?
The con0erence audiences applaud #e 0or another three #inutes,
three #inutes o0 0reedo# and reconition*
The con0erence appro1es our riht o0 return,
li(e all chic(ens and horses, to a drea# #ade o0 stone*
+ sha(e hands with the#, one by one* + bow to the#* Then + continue #y Courney
to another country and tal( about the di00erence between a #irae and the rain*
+ as(: Is it true, good ladies and gentlemen, that the earth of Man is for all human beings?


4
THE WOULD LOVE TO SEE ME DEAD
They would lo1e to see #e dead, to say: He belongs to us, he is ours.
For twenty years + ha1e heard their 0ootsteps on the walls o0 the niht*
They open no door, yet here they are now* + see three o0 the#:
a poet, a (iller, and a reader o0 boo(s*
ill you have some wine? + as(ed*
!es, they answered*
hen do you plan to shoot me? + as(ed*
"a#e it easy, they answered*
They lined up their lasses all in a row and started sinin 0or the people*
+ as(ed: hen will you begin my assassination?
$lready done, they said*** hy did you send your shoes on ahead to your soul?
%o it can wander the face of the earth, + said*
"he earth is wic#edly dar#, so why is your poem so white?
&ecause my heart is teeming with thirty seas, + answered*
They as(ed: hy do you love 'rench wine?
&ecause I ought to love the most beautiful women, + answered*
They as(ed: How would you li#e your death?
&lue, li#e stars pouring from a window ( would you li#e more wine?
!es, we)ll drin#, they said*
*lease ta#e your time. I want you to #ill me slowly so I can write my last
poem to my heart)s wife. They lauhed, and too( 0ro# #e
only the words dedicated to #y heart6s wi0e*


5
THE KINDHEARTED VILLAGERS
+ did not yet (now #y #other6s way o0 li0e,
nor her 0a#ily6s, when the ships ca#e in 0ro# the sea*
+ (new the scent o0 tobacco in #y rand0ather6s aba,
and e1er since + was born here, all at once, li(e a do#estic ani#al,
+ (new the eternal s#ell o0 co00ee*
2e, too, cry when we 0all to the earth6s ri#*
Det we don6t preser1e our 1oices in old Cars*
2e don6t han a #ountain oat6s horns on the wall,
and we don6t #a(e o0 our dust a (indo#*
.ur drea#s do not aze upon other people6s rape1ines*
They don6t brea( the rule*
'y na#e had no 0eathers, so + couldn6t 0ly beyond #idday*
April6s war#th was li(e the balalai(as o0 our passin 1isitors*
+t caused us to 0ly li(e do1es*
'y 0irst 0riht: the char# o0 a irl who seduced #e into
s#ellin #il( on her (nees, but + 0led that #eal6s stinE
2e, too, ha1e our #ystery when the sun 0alls 0ro# white poplars*
2e are o1erwhel#ed by a desire to cry 0or one who has died 0or nothin,
and by an eaerness to 1isit !abylon or a #os9ue in -a#ascus*
+n the eternal saa o0 pain, we are the teardrop in the do1e6s cooin*
2e are (indhearted 1illaers and we don6t reret our words*
.ur na#es, li(e our days, are the sa#e*
.ur na#es don6t re1eal us* 2e in0iltrate the tal( o0 our uests*
2e ha1e thins to tell the wo#an straner
about the land she e#broiders on her scar0
@
with the pinions o0 our returnin sparrowsE
2hen the ships ca#e in 0ro# the sea,
this place was held toether only by trees*
2e were 0eedin our cows in their enclosures
and oranizin our days in closets #ade by our own hands*
2e were coa>in the horse, and bec(onin to the wanderin star*
2e, too, boarded the ships, entertained by
the radiance o0 the e#erald in our oli1e at niht,
and by dos bar(in at a 0leetin #oon abo1e the church tower,
yet we were una0raid*
For our childhood had not boarded with us*
2e were satis0ied with a son*
Soon we6ll o bac( to our house
when the ships unload their e>cess caro*
7
THE OWL!S NIGHT
There is, here, a present not e#braced by the past*
2hen we reached the last o0 the trees, we (new we were unable to pay attention*
And when we returned to the ships, we saw absence pilin up its chosen obCects
and pitchin its eternal tent around us*
There is, here, a present not e#braced by the past*
A sil(en thread is drawn out o0 #ulberry trees
0or#in letters on the pae o0 niht*
.nly the butter0lies cast liht upon our boldness
in plunin into the pit o0 strane words*
as that condemned man my father?
Perhaps + can handle #y li0e here*
Perhaps + can now i1e birth to #ysel0
and choose di00erent letters 0or #y na#e*
There is, here, a present, sittin in an e#pty (itchen
azin at the trac(s o0 those crossin the ri1er on reeds*
A present polishin the 0lutes with its wind*
Perhaps speech could beco#e transparent, so we could
see open windows in it, and perhaps ti#e could hurry alon with us,
carryin our to#orrow in its luae*
There is, here, a ti#eless present, and here no one can 0ind anyone*
,o one re#e#bers how we went out the door li(e a ust o0 wind,
and at what hour we 0ell 0ro# yesterday, and then
yesterday shattered on the tiles
in shards 0or others to reasse#ble into #irrors
re0lectin their i#aes o1er ours*
<
There is, here, a placeless present*
Perhaps + can handle #y li0e and cry out in the owl6s niht:
as this condemned man my father who burdens me with his history?
Perhaps + will be trans0or#ed within #y na#e, and will choose
#y #other6s words and way o0 li0e, e>actly as they should be*
Thus, she could caCole #e each ti#e salt touched #y blood,
and i1e #e 0ood each ti#e a nihtinale bit #e in the #outh*
There is, here, a transient present*
"ere, straners han their ri0les on the oli1e6s branches,
to prepare their dinner in haste out o0 tin cans
and rush hurriedly to their truc(s*


;0
A RHME "OR THE ODES #MU!ALLA$AT%
,o one uided #e to #ysel0* + a# the uide*
!etween desert and sea, + a# #y own uide to #ysel0*
!orn o0 lanuae on the road to +ndia between two s#all tribes,
adorned by the #oonliht o0 ancient 0aiths and an i#possible peace,
co#pelled to uard the periphery o0 a Persian neihborhood
and the reat obsession o0 the !yzantines,
so that the hea1iness o0 ti#e lihtens o1er the Arab6s tent*
2ho a# +? This is a 9uestion that others as(, but has no answer*
+ a# #y lanuae, + a# an ode, two odes, ten* This is #y lanuae*
+ a# #y lanuae* + a# words6 writ: &e! &e my body!
And + beco#e an e#bodi#ent o0 their ti#bre*
+ a# what + ha1e spo(en to the words: &e the place where
my body joins the eternity of the desert.
&e, so that I may become my words.
,o land on earth bears #e* .nly #y words bear #e,
a bird born 0ro# #e who builds a nest in #y ruins
be0ore #e, and in the rubble o0 the enchantin world around #e*
+ stood on a wind, and #y lon niht was without end*
This is #y lanuae, a nec(lace o0 stars around the nec(s
o0 #y lo1ed ones* They e#irated*
They carried the place and e#irated, they carried ti#e and e#irated*
They li0ted their 0rarances 0ro# their bowls*
They too( their blea( pastures and e#irated*
They too( the words* The ra1aed heart le0t with the#*
2ill the echo, this echo, this white, sonorous #irae
hold a na#e whose hoarseness 0ills the un(nown
and who# departure 0ills with di1inity?
The s(y opened a window 0or #e* + loo(ed and 0ound nothin
sa1e #ysel0 outside itsel0, as it has always been,
;;
and #e desert%haunted 1isions*
'y steps are wind and sand, #y world is #y body
and what + can hold onto*
+ a# the tra1eler and also the road*
Gods appear to #e and disappear*
2e don6t liner upon what is to co#e*
There is no to#orrow in this desert, sa1e what we saw yesterday,
so let #e brandish #y ode to brea( the cycle o0 ti#e,
and let there be beauti0ul daysE
"ow #uch past to#orrow holdsE
+ le0t #ysel0 to itsel0, a sel0 0illed with the present*
-eparture e#ptied #e o0 te#ples*
"ea1en has its own nations and wars*
+ ha1e a azelle 0or a wi0e,
and pal# trees 0or odes in a boo( o0 sand*
2hat + see is the past*
For #an(ind, a (indo# o0 dust and a crown*
Aet #y lanuae o1erco#e #y hostile 0ate, #y line o0 descendants*
Aet it o1erco#e #e, #y 0ather, and a 1anishin that won6t 1anish*
This is #y lanuae, #y #iracle, #y #aic wand*
This is #y obelis( and the ardens o0 #y !abylon,
#y 0irst identity, #y polished #etal, the desert idol o0 an Arab
who worships what 0lows 0ro# rhy#es li(e stars in his aba,
and who worships his own words*
So let there be prose*
There #ust be a di1ine prose 0or the Prophet to triu#ph*
;2
THE WELL
.ne cloudy day + pass by an old well*
'aybe it 0ills with hea1en,
#aybe it 0lows past #eanin,
and the parable the old shepherd told*
+6ll drin( a hand0ul o0 its water
and reet all the dead around it:
Peace be upon you who61e re#ained stead0ast
in puddles o0 butter0liesE
+ scrape the yellow inula plant 0ro# a stone*
*eace be upon you . little stone*
'aybe we were bird6s wins
achin 0ro# 0liht*
*eace be upon you . #oon
ho1erin abo1e your i#ae
but ne1er sin(in into itE
+ salute the cypress:
be care0ul what the dust says*
'aybe we were 1iolin strins
at the ban9uet o0 the s(y6s blue uardians,
#aybe we were lo1ers6 ar#sE
+ used to wal( beside #ysel0:
be stron, . #ate o0 #ineE
Baise the past as i0 li0tin
a oat by the horns with your bare hands*
Sit near your well*
'aybe the stas o0 the 1alley
;3
will turn and 0ace you*
And the 1oice loo#ed lare,
your 1oice F petri0ied i#ae F
a #o#ent crac(ed open*
+ ha1e yet to co#plete #y casual 1isit to obli1ion*
+ ha1e yet to ta(e all the tools o0 #y heart with #e,
#y bell on the whisperin winds o0 the pines,
#y ladder propped up aainst hea1en,
#y stars at roo0%heiht,
#y hoarseness 0ro# salt%stin*
+ said to #e#ory:
*eace be upon you . rand#other6s ossip,
ta(in us to days o0 pure whiteness under sleep*
'y na#e rins li(e an anti9ue old dinar
on the ede o0 the well*
+ hear ancestral desolation
li(e an Gabode o0 ruin6
between the callin o0 #y na#e6s G#ah6
and the G#ood6 o0 its second syllable*
+ shield #y pet 0o>*
+6# sure +6ll return in a #atter o0 hours ali1e
0ro# the well where + #et neither Hoseph
nor his brothers6 0ears o0 ricochetin echoes*
!ewareE
"ere ne>t to the well6s ede
your #other abandoned you
and tra1eled on with whispered incantations*
-o whate1er you wish with yoursel0*
;4
+ did what + wished with myself:
+ rew up in the shadow
between three sides o0 a trianle:
$ypt, Syria and !abylonia,
riht here on #y own,
without ararian oddesses
8they were too busy washin pebbles
in an oli1e ro1e #oist with dew:*
And + stu#bled onto #ysel0
ne>t to a sna(e
on a cara1an Courney,
and + couldn6t co#plete anythin
but #y host*
The Aand e>pelled #e 0ro# itsel0*
'y na#e pins aainst #y steps li(e a horseshoe*
Co#e closer F
let #e shu00le alon in your na#e 0or a while,
0ro# #y 1oid to your eternity,
. Gila#eshE
!e #y brother,
co#e with #e,
we6ll stop by the old well*
Ai(e a wo#an, #aybe it 0ills with hea1en,
#aybe it 0lows past #eanin and beco#in,
waitin 0or #y birth
0ro# #y 0irst wellE
2e6ll drin( a hand0ul o0 its water*
2e6ll reet all the dead around it:
;4
*eace be upon you
who li1e in puddles o0 butter0lies,
you who are dead,
*eace be upon you.
;5
AS HE WALKS AWA
The ene#y who drin(s tea in our ho1el
has a horse in s#o(e, a dauhter with
thic( eyebrows, brown eyes and lon hair
braided o1er her shoulders
li(e a niht o0 sons*
"e6s ne1er without her picture
when he co#es to drin( our tea,
but he 0orets to tell us about her nihtly chores,
about a horse o0 ancient #elodies
abandoned on a hilltop*
Bela>in in our shac(, the ene#y
slins his ri0le o1er #y rand0ather6s chair,
eats our bread li(e any uest,
dozes o00 0or a while on the wic(er couch*
Then, as he stoops to pat our cat on the way out,
says: +,on)t blame the victim.)
+$nd who might that be?) we as(*
+&lood that won)t dry in the night.)
"is coat%buttons 0lash as he wal(s away*
Good evening to you! %ay hello to our well!
%ay hello to our fig trees! %tep gingerly
on our shadows in the barley fields
Greet our pines on high. &ut please
don)t leave the gate open at night.
$nd don)t forget the horse)s terror of airplanes.
;@
$nd greet us there, if you have time.
That6s what we want to say at the doorstep*
"e hears it well enouh,
but #u00les it with a couh,
and wa1es it aside*
Then why does he 1isit the 1icti# e1ery e1enin,
#e#orize our pro1erbs by heart, as we do,
repeat our sons about our
special holidays in the holy place?
.ur 0lutes would ha1e played a duet
i0 it weren6t 0or the un*
As lon as the earth turns around itsel0 inside us
the war will not end*
Aet6s be ood then*
"e as(ed us to be ood while we6re here*
"e recites Deats6s poe# about the +rish Air#an:
+"hose that I fight I do not hate,
"hose that I guard I do not love.)
Then he lea1es our wooden ra#shac(le hut
and wal(s eihty #eters to our old stone house
on the ede o0 the plain*
Greet our house for us, stranger.
"he coffee cups are the same.
-an you smell our fingers still on them?
-an you tell your daughter
with the braid and thic# eyebrows
;7
she has an absent friend
who wishes to visit her, to enter her mirror
and see his secret.
How was she able to trace his age in this place?
%ay hello to her, if you
have time.
2hat we want to tell hi#
he hears well enouh, but #u00les with a couh
and wa1es aside*
"is coat buttons 0lash
as he wal(s away*

;<
O HELEN& WHAT A RAIN
+ #et "elen on a Tuesday*
+t was three o6cloc(, the hour o0 endless boredo#,
but the
sound o0 the rain
with a wo#an li(e "elen
was a hy#n to the Courney*
. what a rain,
and . what lonin,
the lonin o0 hea1en 0or itsel0E
And . what #oanin,
the #oanin o0 wol1es 0or their own (indE
Bain on the roo0 o0 desiccation,
old desiccation in the icons o0 churches*
The straner says to "elen, the bread seller,
+How far away is the earth from me, and how far away
is love from you?)
The straner says to "elen,
in a street as narrow as her stoc(in,
+"here is only a single word and the rain,
rain hungry for trees,
rain hungry for stones.)
The straner says to the bread seller,
+Helen, Helen,
does the aroma of bread rise up from you now
to a balcony far off in a distant land
in place of Homer)s words?
20
,oes moisture evaporate from your shoulders
through the dry trees of the poem?)
"elen replies, +hat a rain! hat a rain!)
The straner says to her,
+I need narcissus to ga.e in the water
the pool of your water in my body.
/ Helen, ga.e into the water of our dreams
and on your ban#s you)ll hear
the dead chanting your name
/ Helen, Helen,
don)t leave us alone
as lonely as the moon!)
She replies, G2hat a rainE 2hat a rainE6
The straner says to her,
+I used to fight in your twin trenches (
you)ll never be absolved of my $siatic blood,
you)ll never be absolved of the obscure blood
coursing through the veins of your roses!
How cruel the Gree#s were at that time!
How much that wild /dysseus loved to travel,
in search of his legend!)
2hat + didn6t say to "elen + said,
and what + said + didn6t say*
!ut "elen (nows what the straner lea1es unsaid
and what he says to the bread
2;
di00usin its aro#a throuh the rain*
So she answers hi#:
+"he battle of "roy never happened,
never happened,
never.)
2hat a rainE
2hat a rainE

22
ELEVEN PLANETS IN THE LAST ANDALUSIAN SK
'( B) a S*ri+,& Wa*)r& *o M- Gui*ar
!e a strin, water, to #y uitar*
Con9uerors co#e, con9uerors o***
+t6s ettin hard to re#e#ber #y 0ace in the #irrors*
!e #e#ory 0or #e
so + can see what +61e lost*
2ho a# + a0ter these paths o0 e>odus?
+ own a boulder that bears #y na#e
on a tall blu00 o1erloo(in what has co#e to an end*
Se1en hundred years escort #e beyond the city walls*
Ti#e turns around in 1ain to sa1e #y
past 0ro# a #o#ent that i1es birth
to the history o0 #y e>ile
in others and in #ysel0*
!e a strin, water, to #y uitar*
Con9uerors co#e, con9uerors o***
headin south as nations deco#pose
on the co#post o0 chane*
+ (now who + was yesterday,
but who will + be to#orrow
under the Atlantic 0las o0 Colu#bus?
!e a strin to #y uitar, water, be a strin*
There is no $ypt in $ypt, no
23
Fez in Fez, and Syria is too 0ar away*
,o haw( on the 0la o0 #y people,
no ri1er runnin east o0 a pal# trees besieed
by the 'onols6 swi0t horses*
+n which Andalusia did + #eet #y end?
"ere, in this place?
.r there?
+ (now +61e died, lea1in behind what is
best o0 what is #ine in this place: #y past*
+61e ot nothin le0t but #y uitar*
!e a strin, water, to #y uitar*
Con9uerors co#e, con9uerors o*
24
..( Vio/i+s
=iolins weep with Gypsies on their way to Andalusia,
=iolins weep with Arabs lea1in Andalusia*
=iolins weep o1er lost ti#e, no turnin bac(*
=iolins weep o1er a lost ho#eland that could possibly return*
=iolins set 0ire to 0orests o0 that deep, deep dar(ness*
=iolins bleed butcher (ni1es, s#ell #y Cuular blood*
=iolins weep with Gypsies on their way to Andalusia*
=iolins weep with Arabs lea1in Andalusia*
=iolins are horses on hostly ut%strins and (eenin water*
=iolins are 0ields o0 wild lilacs wa1in to and 0ro*
=iolins are beasts tortured by a wo#an6s 0inernail, struc( once then li0ted*
=iolins are an ar#y peoplin a ce#etery o0 #arble and #elody*
=iolins are a chaos o0 hearts crazed by wind in a dancer6s 0oot*
=iolins are bird 0loc(s 0leein torn banners in ziza 0liht*
=iolins are co#plaints o0 creased and ru#pled sil( in a lo1er6s niht*
=iolins are the sound o0 wine recallin an earlier desire*
=iolins 0ollow #e e1erywhere to e>act their sad re1ene*
=iolins hunt #e down to (ill #e where1er they 0ind #e*
=iolins weep with Arabs lea1in Andalusia*
=iolins weep with Gypsies on their way to Andalusia*
24
WHO AM I& WITHOUT E0ILE1
Straner on the ri1er ban(,
li(e the ri1er, water binds #e to your na#e*
,othin brins #e bac( 0ro# this distance
to the oasis: neither war nor peace*
,othin rants #e entry into the ospels*
,othin* ,othin shines 0ro# the shores
o0 ebb and 0low between the Tiris and the ,ile*
,othin li0ts #e down 0ro# the Pharaoh6s chariots*
,othin carries #e, or loads #e with an idea:
neither nostalia, nor pro#ise*
2hat shall + do? 2hat shall + do without e>ile
and a lon niht o0 azin at the water?
2ater binds #e to your na#e*
,othin ta(es #e away 0ro# the butter0lies o0 drea#*
,othin i1es #e reality: neither dust, nor 0ire*
2hat shall + do without the roses o0 Sa#ar(and?
2hat shall + do in a s9uare, where siners are
worn s#ooth by #oonstones?
2e ha1e beco#e weihtless,
as liht as our dwellins in distant winds*
2e ha1e, both o0 us, be0riended the strane beins in the clouds*
2e ha1e both been 0reed 0ro# the ra1ity o0 the land o0 identity*
2hat shall we do?
2hat shall we do without e>ile
and lon nihts o0 azin at the water?
2ater binds #e to your na#e*
25
,othin is le0t o0 #e e>cept you*
,othin is le0t o0 you e>cept #e F
a straner caressin the thihs o0 a straner*
. straner, what will we do with what is le0t
o0 the stillness and the brie0 sleep between two #yths?
,othin carries us: neither path nor ho#e*
2as this the sa#e path 0ro# the beinnin?
.r did our drea#s 0ind a 'onolian horse on a hill
and e>chane us 0or hi#?
2hat shall we do?
2hat shall we do without e>ile?
2@
"OUR PERSONAL ADDRESSES
.( O+) s2uar) m)*)r o3 4riso+
+t6s the door, and beyond it is the paradise o0 the heart* .ur thins F and
e1erythin is ours F are interchaneable* And the door is a door, the door o0
#etony#y, the door o0 leend* A door to (eep Septe#ber entle* A door that
in1ites 0ields to bein their wheat* The door has no door, yet + can o into #y
outside and lo1e both what + see and what + do not see* All o0 these wonders and
beauty are on earth F there F and yet the door has no door? 'y prison cell accepts
no liht e>cept into #ysel0* Peace be unto #e* Peace be unto the sound barrier* +
wrote ten poe#s to euloize #y 0reedo#, here and there* + lo1e the particles o0
s(y that slip throuh the s(yliht F a #eter o0 liht where horses swi#* And + lo1e
#y #other6s little thins, the aro#a o0 co00ee in her dress when she opens the
door o0 day to her 0loc(s o0 hens* + lo1e the 0ields between Autu#n and 2inter,
the children o0 our prison uard, and the #aazines displayed on a distant
sidewal(* + also wrote twenty satiric poe#s about the place in which we ha1e no
plate* 'y 0reedo# is not to be as they want #e to be, but to enlare #y prison
cell, and carry on #y son o0 the door* A door is a door, yet + can wal( out within
#e, and so on and so 0orth*
27
5( A s)a* o+ a *rai+
Scar1es that don6t belon to us* Ao1ers at the last #inute* The liht o0 the station*
Boses that decei1e a heart in search o0 tenderness* Treacherous tears on the
plat0or#* 'yths that don6t belon to us* They tra1eled 0ro# here* -o we ha1e a
certain there, so that we #iht reCoice when we arri1e? Tulips are not 0or us, so
why should we lo1e the railway? 2e tra1el in search o0 nothin, but we don6t li(e
trains when new stations are new places o0 e>ile* Aanterns, but not 0or us, to see
our lo1e waitin in the s#o(e* An e>press train to cross the la(es* +n e1ery
poc(et, (eys to a house and a 0a#ily photoraph* All the passeners return to their
0a#ilies, but we do not return to any ho#e* 2e tra1el in search o0 nothin, so that
we #ay achie1e the rihtness o0 butter0lies* 2indows, but not 0or us, to e>chane
reetins in e1ery lanuae* 2as the earth any clearer when we rode the horses o0
the past? 2here are these horses? 2here are the #aidens o0 the sons? And when
in us are the sons o0 nature? + a# distant e1en 0ro# #y own distance* "ow
distant, then, is Ao1e? Fast irls, li(e robbers, hunt us* 2e 0oret addresses
scrawled on train windows* 2e, who 0all in lo1e 0or ten #inutes, cannot enter a
house twice* 2e cannot beco#e an echo twice*
2<
6( A+ i+*)+si7) 8ar) room
2hen the earth presses aainst #e, the wind spins #e around* + ha1e to 0ly, to
bridle the wind, but + a# a hu#an bein* +n #y heart, #any 0lutes are tearin #y
breast* 'y sweat is li(e 0allin snow, so picture #y ra1e in the pal# o0 #y hand,
+ was, little by little, tossed into bed, + threw up and lost consciousness 0or a
while, and then + died* At the ate o0 that hurried death, + called out: I love you,
may I enter death in your feet? And + died, + died utterly* "ow tran9uil and
peace0ul is death without your cryin? "ow tran9uil and peace0ul is death without
your hands poundin on #y chest to brin #e bac(? !e0ore and a0ter death +
lo1ed you, and between + saw nothin but #y #other6s 0ace*
+t6s the heart, set loose 0or a while, that has returned* + as(ed #y belo1ed: In
which heart was I struc#? She leaned on #y heart and answered with tears* .
heart, how could you lie to #e and let #e tu#ble 0ro# #y neihin horse? 2e
still ha1e considerable ti#e, so hold out with #e until a hoopoe 0ro# the Iueen o0
Sheba6s land co#es to you*
2e #ailed letters* 2e crossed thirty seas and si>ty coasts and yet we still ha1e
ti#e to wander*
. heart, how could you 0ool a horse who lo1es the wind? Ta(e your ti#e until we
0inish this last e#brace and 0all to the earth in prayer*
Ta(e your ti#e that + #ay (now whether you are #y heart or her 1oice when she
cried out: "a#e me.
30
9( A room i+ a ho*)/
Peace be unto lo1e when it co#es, when it dies and chanes lo1ers in hotels* -oes
it ha1e anythin to lose? 2e6ll drin( the e1enin co00ee in the arden* 2e6ll tell
stories o0 e>ile in the niht* Then we6ll o to a roo# F two straners searchin 0or
a niht o0 co#passion and so on and so 0orth*
2e6ll lea1e a 0ew words on our two seats* 2e6ll 0oret our ciarettes, so others
#ay continue with the e1enin and the s#o(in* 2e6ll 0oret so#e o0 our sleep
on our pillows, so others #ay co#e and rest in our sleep and so on and so 0orth*
"ow was it that we put 0aith in our bodies in those hotels? "ow could we depend
on our secrets in those hotels? +n the dar(ness that has Coined our bodies, others
#ay continue our cry and so on and so 0orth* 2e are only two o0 those who sleep
in a public bed, a bed that belons to all* 2e say only what transient lo1ers also
said a while ao* Goodbye co#es soon* 2as this hasty encounter only so as to
0oret those who lo1ed us in other hotels? "a1e you not said these wanton words
to so#eone else? "a1e + not said these wanton words to so#eone else in another
hotel, or ha1e + said the# in this 1ery bed? 2e6ll 0ollow the sa#e steps, so that
others #ay co#e and 0ollow the sa#e steps and so on and so 0orth*


3;
LESSON "ROM THE KAMA SUTRA
2ait 0or her with an azure cup*
2ait 0or her in the e1enin at the sprin, a#on per0u#ed roses*
2ait 0or her with the patience o0 a horse trained 0or #ountains*
2ait 0or her with the distincti1e, aesthetic taste o0 a prince*
2ait 0or her with se1en pillows o0 cloud*
2ait 0or her with strands o0 wo#anly incense wa0tin*
2ait 0or her with the #anly scent o0 sandalwood on horsebac(*
2ait 0or her and do not rush*
+0 she arri1es late, wait 0or her*
+0 she arri1es early, wait 0or her*
-o not 0rihten the birds in her braided hair*
2ait 0or her to sit in a arden at the pea( o0 its 0lowerin*
2ait 0or her so that she #ay breathe this air, so strane to her heart*
2ait 0or her to li0t her ar#ent 0ro# her le, cloud by cloud*
And wait 0or her*
Ta(e her to the balcony to watch the #oon drownin in #il(*
2ait 0or her and o00er her water be0ore wine*
-o not lance at the twin partrides sleepin on her chest*
2ait and ently touch her hand as she sets a cup on #arble*
As i0 you are carryin the dew 0or her, wait*
Spea( to her as a 0lute would to a 0rihtened 1iolin strin,
as i0 you (new what to#orrow would brin*
2ait, and polish the niht 0or her rin by rin*
2ait 0or her until ,iht spea(s to you thus:
"here is no one alive but the two of you.
%o ta#e her gently to the death you so desire,
and wait.
32