My Shadow

Oh how you tire me out my shadow you, a deformed ghost of the pain dwelling within my ribs…! How you push me to hide in the dark for fear Of you…! When your gloomy ominous attenuated image chases me or your clumsy shape painted on my path gets ahead of me I feel I’m trotting in front of you or behind you against my will that you are pricking my neck or pulling me from my nose And if you beside me walk I feel you are a monster lying in wait for me about to rise up on his feet like a ghoul, and leap upon me and put me to death All day long I tell myself: When my hour comes tomorrow or after tomorrow no doubt the angel of death will come for me alone and will forget you… and you will attend my funeral and take part in my burial And when I am laid to rest inside the earth and all my friends leave you’ll linger a while above my grave to gloat over my misfortune and laugh out loud then go away Who knows whom you will accompany after me! to whom the bad luck will be passed! a human like me, haunted with his premonitions or a ferocious monster…? (Translated from Arabic by Nizar Sartawi)