Long Ibrahim Poems

Fadwa Tuqan has been called the Grand Dame of Palestinian letters and The Poet of Palestine. These are my translations of Fadwa Tuqan poems originally written in Arabic.



Enough for Me
by Fadwa Tuqan 
loose translation/interpretation by...

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English translations of Arabic poems by Fadwa Tuqan aka "The Poet of Palestine"

Enough for Me
by Fadwa Tuqan 
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Enough for me to lie in the earth,
to be buried in her,
to sink...

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...He saw his prize slipping away,
his future he now found in doubt,
had to make sure whoever came
would perish, and never walk out.

He had a compound in Puntland,
where arc and hostages were kept,
on guard were always...

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how Africa will be if influential leaders 
continue speaking the truths 
about injustice in the  World? 
It is always good to speak the truth on earth.
I always pray  millions of people to get used
 to...

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...Then working with the government,
who always liked more western cash,
they set up an agreement that
they hoped could contain this backlash.

Two scientists could see the arc,
and work to verify its age,
one from Harvard, and one Cambridge,
and...

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The world of mere dreams
Death matching birth
Lets no survival

A dream became genuine
In the world of dreams
Crossing the gate of death
To go single

A terrifying dream
A pain like a king
Ruling the whole kingdom of body of Ibrahim

A...

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CHILDREN OF LAHORE
(Easter Sunday 2016)


Arms flailing
From
Her
Blue burka,

The woman
Jumps

Like a checkerboard
Piece
Up and over
The white squares

Of bedsheet
       To bedsheet
To bedsheet

Each
Draped
Over a
Red blossom
Bump
Lumped
And soaked on
The gravel dust
Fairground
Floor.

Like a game of peekaboo
Between mother...

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In an old thatched house,
In an inhabitated corner,
Of a ghost village,
Lived an old woman.

Aged not in years, but in struggles and tears,
guised with prematured grey hair,
Empty mouth, wrinkling skin,
And unsupporting nerves.

Every morning she'll place a...

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You must be smirking to yourself right now, beautiful boy 
Must be gloating, rubbing your evil palms together, 
A smug smile tweaking the edges of your divine lips...
You must be loving the fact that I...

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We African heads of state must stop behaving 
like puppets who dance every time 
the imperialists pull the strings. 
Glory to our peoples, 
Dignity to our people,
Victory to our people, 
Fatherland or death, 
we shall...

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I look at you...at your beautiful face...
I look, and I am gripped by paralytic terror
For though I only met you this morning – 
And though I should know better, oh so much better,
Already I have...

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Acrostic for the WORD and the Christian concept of CROSS


C 	CHRIST CHILD (CONFESS HIM AS LORD)
Christ cares so much, He condescended to become a weak human Child.  Confess Jesus is LORD, & cross over...

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-By Ibrahim Ahmad Hasan

                               ...

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The skies become loud and dark
Raining bombs upon us
May god protect the civilians
Take away the rest in rivers red
Let the devils blood flow far from us

We stare always to the skies
Our own tears falling
Thus we...

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If I were that rose
[purple]from the breath of may,
I would preach love
not the blood of heartbreaks.

If I were that rose
my necter I shall give freely,
and not as a loan
given to the poor out of greed.

If...

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In Taiba Niasse's embrace, a SAGE did rise,
Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse, under African skies.
Tijaniyya's beacon, a mystic so grand,
sheikh Al Islam, a waliyi proMax 
Spreading wisdom, love across the earth.

In robes of serenity, his presence did...

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ENSLAVE US AGAIN!!!
''''''''''''''''''''''""""""""""""""
How slavery unites men-
how chains made us friends.

How the Glossolalia of that tribe-
was learnt by this tribe.

How we shared the same breath-
and the same bugs in our beds.

How the ships that bore us-...

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Monkeys were never us; 
our entrance is more than theory. 
I came standing erect and complete.
The dust was to indulge (except of the tree)
in the place provided, where the voice walked 
in the cool of...

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(For Ibrahim Abu Thuraya - Gaza)

For sale: a wheelchair 
in good condition.  
The seat is black 
wide, warm
and clean (blood stains
washed off); 
the two push handles: soft and comfy;  
they have been held...

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The Fire and The lantern
  By :Nameq Abed Theeb 
  Translated by :Laith Seher 
-----------------------------------------------


All the seasons are absorbed or exhausted ,
by the cloud  who  is being in love with the...

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The Imam of the way of life, calls of prayer,
Traverses from the tower, to reach all ears,
Men in worldly activities, momentary – engrossed,
Set themselves free, to a transitory stop.

In reverence, all and one, orient them...

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True & False
Indo Pak True And False Theory
1.Islam came from Saudi Arabia.True or False
2.Ignorance is insult of human intelligence.True or False
3.Bilingual means Hindko Hindi.True or False
4.The big bang theory is related to gang bang.True or...

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Ibrahim saw Abraham try to spit 
But about the rudeness thought not a bit:
 Herdsman coarsely attacked with a spittle
And it had no meaning or just little,
Whereas it was Abraham’s wished battle
Against his teeming hundred...

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Beauty of life; your pain to slay
Give no  home for a parrots to play

Pay a visit to a western coasts
Build your tenacles at all costs

Befriend the men of fulfilment 
Tell the frosks to depart...

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Ruba’i*: Umar ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam*, Omar son of Ibrahim, the tent-maker

Words awoke on the retina of the astronomer
Unknown aeons piled dark energy upon dark matter
Astral bodies all strung like sea shells in the firmament
What old...

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