Today I give you just one of the searing poems from The Silence that Remains by Palestinian poet, novelist, and journalist Ghassan Zaqtan (1954-), translated by Palestinian-American poet and physician Fady Joudah (1971-).
“That Life”
I’m going to see how they died
I’m going toward that wreckage
going to see them there
tranquil on the hill of engagement
Dear Wednesday’s narcissus, what time is it
what death is it
what planet in the widow’s hand
five or three?
Her dress was blooming
we were
neglected flowers on her dress
Dear women’s thresholds, how much is a lifetime
what time is a river
how many daggers in the blood
of the whirling storm
five or three?
We let the city play
and rolled our widespread shrouds shut
I’m going to see how they died
I’m going toward that wreckage
going to see their death
hills of the north
wind-rise of the south
I’m going to call them by their names
live in the layers 