Do not slap me, destiny, Metres of smacks already cover my face. Here I am, while the wind's blowing in the streets, Charging out of books, dictionaries and taverns The same way soldiers charge out of trenches. O centuries, mean like an insect, You who seduced me with a fan instead of a storm, With matches instead of volcanos. I will never forgive you. I will return to my village, on foot if need be I will spread, on my arrival, rumours about you. I will lie down on the grass and beside the ditches Like a knight exhausted after battle. *** Like trained dogs leaping circles of fire I will cross these gates and windows, These sleeves and collars, Flying like a hawk Above the shyness of virgins And the suffering of workers At twilight spreading my wings like a swallow In search of a virgin land that at the lightest touch Of a cottage, a palace, an emir or a begger, Will leap in the air as a wild horse At the touch of a saddle, A land that has not existed and will never exist Except in my notebooks. *** All right, century, you have defeated me, But I will not find in all the Orient A summit where I can hoist The flag of my surrender. _____________ Translated by Abdul Kader El Janabi