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Latif Halmat | لطيف هلمت |
| English | Arabic |
لم أكن أعرف الغناء
ولكن الفقراء علموني إياه
ولم أكن أعرف الغضب
ولكن الظالمين علموني .. أن أغضب
لم أكن أعرف الحب
ولكن الأنهار علمتني أن أحب
ولم أكن أتقن كتابة الشعر
ولكن العشاق
والأيدي والأصابع المتشققة الخشنة
والأقدام الحافية للفلاحين
علمتني إياها
ولو لم يكن هناك موت
فإني كنت من أجلهم أموت
He was a homeless (vagabond) child, wandering in the cities.
He wept so much, and groaned so much
That the angels and fairies surrounded him.
They took him to thousands of beautiful cities,
To the wide Paradise,
The paradise full of roses and honey,
Full of blue stars.
They gave him thousands of toys,
Thousands of golden apples and pomegranates.
They gave him thousands of colourful ballons,
Sour, tart and sweet fruits.
He wept and wept, tears rolled down his face.
He cried:
"What place is this?
Take me back to my homeland!"
BOOKS
Yadasht drew a child in his drawing book, a sever-year-old child. First he drew the head, then the body. He drew afterwards the child's hands and legs. It became a pretty and sweet child. He was cheerful and smiling.
Yadasht drew also a slingshot and put it in the child's hands. The child stopped smiling. He became upset, he was angry with Yadasht. No matter how friendly Yadasht spoke to the child, he was not reconciled with Yadasht. He did not lough, he did not speak with him.
Yadasht thought for a while, then he erased the slingshot and drew instead a bag full of books and hung it on the child's shoulders. The child smiled again and was reconciled with Yadasht and began to talk to him. They held each other's hands and went together to school.
Translated by: Farhad Shakely
Latif Halmat was born 1947 in Kifri in Southern Kurdistan. Latif is working as a journalist and a writer. He has published several collections of poetry. Some of the collections are: God and our little city (1970), Facing a rebirth (1973), The girl's hair is my tent in summer and winter (1977), The white storm (1978), The letters that my mother does not read (1979), and Finished and unfinished poems (1979). Latif Halmat has also written drama. He belongs to the younger generation of Kurdish poets who made their debut during the 1970s.
