We Never Stop
I have no country to return to,
no country to be banished from,
a tree whose roots
are a running river:
It dies if it stops
it dies if it doesn't.
On the cheeks and arms of death
I spent the best of my days,
and the land I lost each day
I gained each day anew.
The people had a single country,
but mine multiplied in loss,
renewed itself in absence.
Its roots, like mine, are water:
If it stops it withers,
if it stops it dies.
Both of us are running
with a river of sunbeams,
a river of gold dust
that rises from ancient wounds,
and we never stop.
We keep on,
never thinking to pause
so our two paths can meet.
I have no country to be banished from,
no country to return to:
I'll die if I stop,
I'll die if I keep going.
___________________________
No One Will Know You Tomorrow
translation by Kareem James Abu-Zeid
Yale 2024
