Poem
Seifu Metaferia
A WORLD CREATED BY THE POWERFUL
They say “come here!.go there!”
with a gun
to emphasize their words
“just drive me, please!” they say
mixing polite and threatening
because they like to blur distinctions –
the powerful
yes, life itself is a cold draught
but once upon a time our earth was ours
one unit, whole
not cut up in a thousand pieces
not spoiled like she is now
before things got so messed up
she was just herself
and hugged us all no matter
if our skin was black or white
© Translation: 2020, Chris Beckett and Alemu Tebeje
From: Songs We Learn From Trees
Publisher: Carcanet Classics, Manchester, 2020
From: Songs We Learn From Trees
Publisher: Carcanet Classics, Manchester, 2020
ጉልበተኛ የፈጠራት አለም
ጉልበተኛ የፈጠራት አለም
ከዚህ ወዲያ ከዚህ ፣ ከዚያ ወዲያ ብሎ
ተልሞ
ከትልሞው ላይ ጠመንጃውን አጋድሞ
እንዲያው እስቲ! እስቲ ... ‘ንዳው! እያለ
ዛቻ ከፓለቲካ እየቀላቀላ
እንዲያ እየቀላቀላ ከፋፈላት ... ‘ንጂ
ጉልበተኛ
የህይወት ህይዎቱዋ መጋኛ ፣
የኛ ምድሪቱስ የኛ
ድሮ ወጥ ነበረች
ዐስር መቶ ቦታ ያልተቆራረጠች ።
እና እንዲያ ሳይበለሻሽ ነገር
ተዙዋዙሮ
እሱዋስ በርግጥ ነበረች
ዘራሰብን ነጭ ..... ጥቁር ሳትለው ያቀፈች ።
© 2020, Seifu Metaferia
Poems
Poems of Seifu Metaferia
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A WORLD CREATED BY THE POWERFUL
They say “come here!.go there!”
with a gun
to emphasize their words
“just drive me, please!” they say
mixing polite and threatening
because they like to blur distinctions –
the powerful
yes, life itself is a cold draught
but once upon a time our earth was ours
one unit, whole
not cut up in a thousand pieces
not spoiled like she is now
before things got so messed up
she was just herself
and hugged us all no matter
if our skin was black or white
© 2020, Chris Beckett and Alemu Tebeje
From: Songs We Learn From Trees
Publisher: 2020, Carcanet Classics, Manchester
From: Songs We Learn From Trees
Publisher: 2020, Carcanet Classics, Manchester
A WORLD CREATED BY THE POWERFUL
They say “come here!.go there!”
with a gun
to emphasize their words
“just drive me, please!” they say
mixing polite and threatening
because they like to blur distinctions –
the powerful
yes, life itself is a cold draught
but once upon a time our earth was ours
one unit, whole
not cut up in a thousand pieces
not spoiled like she is now
before things got so messed up
she was just herself
and hugged us all no matter
if our skin was black or white
© 2020, Chris Beckett and Alemu Tebeje
From: Songs We Learn From Trees
Publisher: 2020, Carcanet Classics, Manchester
From: Songs We Learn From Trees
Publisher: 2020, Carcanet Classics, Manchester
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