#zakaria mohammed

[firstfullmoon]

Zakaria Mohammed, “Untitled Poem, IV,” trans. Lena Tuffaha

[bones-ivy-breath]

August 15 by Zakaria Mohammed (tr. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha)

[mordere-diem]

"It is not poetry’s job to wipe away tears. Poetry should dig a trench where they can overflow and drown the universe."

Zakaria Mohammed, Untitled from A Date For the Crow

[aysegul]

This soul-crushing poem by Zakaria Mohammed has never ceased to amaze me since I first encountered it, so I wanted to transform it into a graphic short story just to spend more time with it. Translator Lena Tuffaha equally deserves praise for giving it a new life so beautifully.

[translations2]

두 개의 시, 자카리아 모하메드

Two Poems

By Zakaria Mohammed

Translated by Lena Tuffaha

I.

I caught a glimpse of you as I ran. I had no time to stop and kiss your hand. The world was chasing me down like I was a thief and it was impossible for me to stop. If I had stopped I’d have been killed. But I caught a glimpse of you: your hand a stem of narcissus in a glass of water, your mouth unbuttoned, and your hair a soaring bird of prey. I caught a glimpse of you but I had no matches with me to light a bonfire and dance around it. The world was failing me, abandoning me, so I didn’t even wave at you.

One day the world will settle down, the crazed cable channels will stop broadcasting, and those that hound me will disperse so I can return to that road, the one where I caught a glimpse of you. I’ll find you in that same chair: your hand a stem of narcissus, your smile a bird of prey, and your heart an apricot blossom. And there, with you, beneath the shade of your apricot, I’ll tear down the tent of my orphanhood and build my home.

                                     —from Kushtban

II.

Night is a generous friend.  All things loosen their vines over my head. My beloveds are seated around me as if we were at a celebration. My beloveds who have passed. My beloveds who are here, and beloveds yet to come. And death is a watchdog chained at the gate. Only the Khamaseen wind beats angrily at the door. Khamaseen is a loathsome neighbor; I raise a wall between us, turn out the lights between us.

I am happy, singing like a rod of ephedra, crying out like a raptor.

Do not believe my words. Don’t reach out to the vines in the darkness. Night is a pact of horrors. Ten birds sleep in the tree, but one anxiously circles over the house. And as you know, one bird suffices to destroy an entire celebration, one match to burn down a civilization.

The meal was cold. I rinsed my mouth out afterwards with Khamaseen, and washed my hands with lichen.

If there was any use in weeping I would have wept before you all. But weeping requires more energy than we possess, so I will sing for you like tender Saba wind, I’ll sing in the vernacular of a young basil stem: night is a stone of amber. Night is a pact of marvels.

                                    —from Alanda (Ephedra)

_

두 개의 시

- 자카리아 모하메드

- 레나 투파하 아랍어에서 영어로 옮김

I.

달리며 당신을 얼핏 보았습니다. 멈춰 서서 당신 손에 입을 맞출 시간이 없었어요. 세상이 마치 내가 도둑이라는 듯이 나를 뒤쫓고 있었고 나는 도저히 멈출 수가 없었습니다. 멈췄더라면 나는 죽임을 당했을거예요. 하지만 얼핏 당신을 봤습니다: 당신의 손은 물잔에 담긴 한 줄기 수선화, 조금 벌린 당신의 입, 당신 머리카락은 솟아오르는 맹금. 얼핏 당신을 보았지만 내게는 춤을 추며 돌 모닥불을 피울 성냥이 없었습니다. 세상이 나를 실망시키고 있었고, 나를 버리고 있어서, 당신에게 손도 흔들지 않았습니다.

어느날 세상이 진정될 ���입니다, 날뛰는 케이블 채널들은 방송을 그만둘 것이고, 나를 못 살게 구는 이들이 흩어져 나는 그 길로 돌아갈 수 있을 것입니다, 당신을 얼핏 본 그 길로. 당신은 같은 의자에 앉아있을 것입니다: 당신 손은 한 줄기 수선화, 당신 미소는 맹금, 당신의 심장은 살구꽃. 그리고 거기서, 당신이랑, 당신 복숭아꽃의 그림자 아래에서, 내 고아시절의 텐트를 허물고 나의 집을 지을 것이에요.

                                     — 큐슈트반에서

II.

밤은 관대한 친구입니다. 온갖 것들이 나의 머리 위로 덩굴을 풀어둡니다. 사랑하는 이들이 무언가 기념하듯 나를 둘러싸고 앉아있습니다. 내가 사랑하는 돌아간 이들. 내가 사랑하는 여기 있는 이들과 내가 사랑하는 아직 오지 않은 이들. 그리고 죽음은 문에 묶인 감시견. *카마신 바람만이 성을 내며 문을 칩니다. 카마신은 혐오스러운 이웃; 우리 사이에 벽을 세워, 우리 사이 켜진 불을 끕니다.

마황 줄기처럼 노래하며, 맹금처럼 비명을 지르며, 나는 행복합니다.

나의 말을 믿지 마십시오. 어둠 속에서 덩굴에 다가가지 마십시오. 밤은 공포스러운 것들 사이의 약속입니다. 열 마리의 새가 나무에서 잠을 자지만, 한 마리는 불안해하며 지붕 위를 돕니다. 그리고 당신이 아시다시피, 기념식 하나를 망치는 데 새 한 마리면 충분하고, 문명 하나를 태워버리는 데 성냥 하나면 충분하지요.

식사는 차가웠어요. 식사를 하고 카마신으로 입을 헹구고 이끼로 손을 씻었습니다.

우는 것이 소용이 있었다면 누구보다도 먼저 내가 울었을 것입니다. 하지만 우는 것은 우리가 가진 것보다도 많은 힘을 요하니, 나는 상냥한 사바 바람처럼 당신을 위해 노래할게요. 어린 바질 줄기의 방언으로 노래할게요: 밤은 호박. 밤은 경이로운 것들의 약속.

                                    —알란다 (엘페드라) 에서

_

*카마신 (또는 캄신): 캄신은 이집트와 이스라엘에 영향을 주는 건조하고 덥고 모래가 많은 국지풍이다. 봄부터 여름까지 지중해를 저기압이 동진하는데, 여기에 이끌려서 사막에서 불어나오는 모래풍인 열풍 (출처: 위키피디아)

[bunnybisexual]

Zakaria Mohammed, Untitled Poem IV

[cry-power]

I caught a glimpse of you as I ran. I had no time to stop and kiss your hand. The world was chasing me down like I was a thief and it was impossible for me to stop. If I had stopped I’d have been killed. But I caught a glimpse of you: your hand a stem of narcissus in a glass of water, your mouth unbuttoned, and your hair a soaring bird of prey. I caught a glimpse of you but I had no matches with me to light a bonfire and dance around it. The world was failing me, abandoning me, so I didn’t even wave at you. One day the world will settle down, the crazed cable channels will stop broadcasting, and those that hound me will disperse so I can return to that road, the one where I caught a glimpse of you. I’ll find you in that same chair: your hand a stem of narcissus, your smile a bird of prey, and your heart an apricot blossom. And there, with you, beneath the shade of your apricot, I’ll tear down the tent of my orphanhood and build my home.                                      —from Kushtban Zakaria Mohammed, translated by Lena Tuffaha

[missedstations]

by Zakaria Mohammed

II.

Night is a generous friend.  All things loosen their vines over my head. My beloveds are seated around me as if we were at a celebration. My beloveds who have passed. My beloveds who are here, and beloveds yet to come. And death is a watchdog chained at the gate. Only the Khamaseen wind beats angrily at the door. Khamaseen is a loathsome neighbor; I raise a wall between us, turn out the lights between us.

I am happy, singing like a rod of ephedra, crying out like a raptor.

Do not believe my words. Don’t reach out to the vines in the darkness. Night is a pact of horrors. Ten birds sleep in the tree, but one anxiously circles over the house. And as you know, one bird suffices to destroy an entire celebration, one match to burn down a civilization.

The meal was cold. I rinsed my mouth out afterwards with Khamaseen, and washed my hands with lichen.

If there was any use in weeping I would have wept before you all. But weeping requires more energy than we possess, so I will sing for you like tender Saba wind, I’ll sing in the vernacular of a young basil stem: night is a stone of amber. Night is a pact of marvels.

—from Alanda (Ephedra)

[tierracottas]

August 15, by late Palestinian poet Zakaria Mohammed

[passion-of-arts]

SAMIA | HD Trailer (German)

"Samia" aus dem Jahr 2024 ist ein Biopic über die somalische Leichtathletin Samia Yusuf Omar. Inszeniert wurde der Film von Regisseurin Yasemin Şamdereli.

Nach dem großen Erfolg von "Almanya - Willkommen in Deutschland" bringt Regisseurin Yasemin Şamdereli nun die faszinierende Geschichte der somalischen Athletin Samia Yusuf Omar auf die Leinwand, die 2008 an den Olympischen Spielen in Peking teilnahm. Der Film, inspiriert vom Bestseller „Sag nicht, dass du Angst hast“ und basierend auf wahren Begebenheiten, zeichnet ein bewegendes Bild einer entschlossenen und lebensfrohen jungen Frau, die ihren Traum trotz aller Widrigkeiten verfolgt.

Jeden Morgen fordert Samia auf dem Schulweg ihren besten Freund zu einem Wettrennen heraus – und gewinnt immer. Die Neunjährige hat nur ein Ziel: Sie möchte unbedingt am jährlichen Stadtlauf in Mogadischu teilnehmen. Ihr Vater unterstützt sie dabei und verspricht ihr im Falle eines Sieges ein Paar echte Laufschuhe. Doch ihre Mutter bremst sie aus, da es Frauen verboten ist, Sport zu treiben, und die Gefahr, einer Patrouille zu begegnen, groß ist. Aber Samia lässt sich nicht aufhalten. Heimlich trainiert sie nachts weiter und triumphiert schließlich beim Stadtlauf, indem sie als Erste das Ziel erreicht – vor allen Erwachsenen. Plötzlich erscheint alles möglich, und Samia träumt davon, eines Tages als schnellste Frau Somalias an den Olympischen Spielen teilzunehmen.

[speakyetpause]

ZAKARIA MOHAMMED 7-24-2019

(translation by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha)

I have eulogized the dead my entire life, and this has exhausted me. When you spend a lifetime singing of the slain, you will be slain as well without knowing how. You become a victim singing a victim, a dead man embalming a dead man and burying him. From this day forward, I will not sing of the slain. I’ll sing of the killers. I’ll sing their shiny daggers, and their hands that do not tremble. I’ll sing their intuition that leads them to those who emerge from their mothers’ wombs as dead men. The slain love their executions. I ask you: how did the white heron turn into stone? How did he sleep in the rock forever? He kept on eating stones his whole life. And I ask you: How did the dead man become a dead man? For his entire life, he kept eating from the plate of death and searching for a killer to slay him.

[watch-all-sports]

Hamza Khan becomes first Pakistani since 1986 to win World Junior Squash Championship - SUCH TV

Pakistan returned to the world squash podium on Sunday when young Hamza Khan made a comeback to beat Egypt’s Mohamed Zakaria to win the World Junior Championship in Melbourne. Khan claimed a 3-1 victory over Zakaria in the finale, with a scoreline of 10-12, 14-12, 11-3 and 11-6. This was Pakistan’s first World Junior Squash title in nearly four decades as the last Pakistani player to lift this…

[bones-ivy-breath]

August 15 by Zakaria Mohammed (tr. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha)

[iiusia]

grabs you by the shoulders and shakes you. THERE YOU'LL FIND MY WILL AND YOU'LL GRAB THE GAZELLE BY ITS HORNS

holds your face in my hands and looks into your eyes. here, a gazelle is a poetic necessity, nothing more

[a-shade-of-blue]

Masterlist of Fundraisers from the Palestinians who directly contacted me (11-14 September)

14 September

Mohammed (@mohamedabushaban06): Mohammad is an 18-year-old student from Gaza. He is fundraising to fund his education in a medical school in Qatar, and also to evacuate his family in Gaza to safety. (https://gofund.me/b3e62d1d) (vetted by @/victoriawhimsey who works with @/Pali.pals on Instagram, see post here for proof. On @/victoriawhimsey's credibility, she has contacts in Gaza who help her vet GFMs, see @/schoolhater and @/ibtisams' post here. Also see post here with @/dlxxv-vetted-donations' reblog for more info on her credibility)

Abdullah (@abdala1): Abdullah is a 24-year-old IT student. He also had a small business. He has elderly parents and he is fundraising to buy daily necessities and rebuild their home. (https://gofund.me/7774af76) (vetted by association. Abood is an uncle of @nesmamomen (vetted by el-shab-hussein, shared by nabulsi))

Ibrahim Hussein (@ibrahimhuss): Ibrahim and his wife Yasmina have a baby girl named Maryam (1.5). Ibrahim is the eldest and have 6 younger siblings (Muhammad, Hamza, Zakaria, Israa, Ghadeer and Hadeel). Ghadeer and her husband were killed in October, leaving behind their two and a half year old son, Waseem, who is now under Ibrahim’s care. Yasmina's family include her father, Abdullah, her mother, Yousra, her brother, Amir, and her sister Samar. Abdullah and Yousra both need medicine for heart conditions and high blood pressure. Samar has Down's syndrome. They are raising funds to buy daily necessities and to evacuate to Egypt. (https://gofund.me/47c0705c) (vetted by association. @ibrahimhuss is a friend of Mohi (@mohiyreesh, @mohiy-gaza, @mohiy-gaza2) (Mohi's campaign has been shared by 90-ghost))

13 September

Darine Dawoud (@hanidawoud): Darine is 20 years old and from a family of 7. She is a third year medical student. Even after everything they have has been destroyed, she still volunteers in UNRWA refugee camps to help children. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/15ee891d) (Vetted by @/gazavetters and #15 on their vetted gfm list (click here for more info on @/gazavetters). Also vetted by association. Darine is a friend of @mohammedaldeeb (vetted by el-shab-hussein and is #212 on the vetted fundraiser spreadsheet by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi))

Wattan Abu El Aish (@duhafamilly): Wattan and her husband Bassel have 2 children: Mahmoud (4), Wateen (1.5). They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/8f0271b4) (shared by 90-ghost) 

Maram Ashour (@ashourmohammed): Maram is 26 years old and has 2 children: Amir (3) & Hoor (6 months old). Her daughter Hoor was born during the war in harsh conditions and has not received her vaccines. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/6a3ee414) (shared by 90-ghost) 

Aboud Al-Qudra (@aboodalqedra-3, @aboodalqedra-2): Aboud is a 24-year-old business administration student with his own shop. He has been working since he was 15 and he grew his business to have 22 employees. He has now lost his home and many family members. (https://gofund.me/95360334) (vetted and promoted by @/gaza-evacuation-funds)

Amir, Mohammad & Rana (@ameersalama2020): Amir and Rana have 2 children: Amir (3) and Taim (2). Their house has been bombed. Mohammad and Rana both broke their legs. Amir was shot in the back while his brother Taim was shot in the face and hands. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/ce77ff45) (vetted by association. Amir's family are close friends with @dodoomar12345 (shared by 90-ghost), see post here for proof)

Jamal Shamia Family(@ahmadshamia): Mohammad is in Sweden right now trying to raise funds for his family to evacuate out of Gaza. He has 4 sisters: Rasha, Maram, Rana, Reem. Rasha and Rana both have 2 children. Maram and Reem are outside Gaza. His brother Ahmad is a 22-year-old uni student studying dentistry. (https://gofund.me/cc2a50e5) (vetted by association. Amir's family are close friends with @dodoomar12345 (shared by 90-ghost), see post here for proof.)

12 September

Mohammed & Diana (@melhindips): They have 12 members in their immediate family. Diana is currently pregnant with their third child, and their daughter suffers from a neck injury. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/4e1d146f) (vetted by PaliLiberation and is documented as Family #132. (FYI PaliLiberation is an Instagram and Tiktok based initiative, and they only document campaigns who have passed their verification process))

Ali Jundia (@ali-manar2024-family, @ali2024-family): Ali is from a family of 9. His son Yazan has been injured in the foot by a sharpnel. Ali is raising funds to evacuate his family and provide treatment for Yazan. (https://gofund.me/c76c2983) (Vetted by @/gazavetters and #22 on their vetted gfm list (click here for more info on @/gazavetters). Also vetted by association. Ali Jundia is a friend of @samerpal (#196 on the verified fundraiser list vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi)) (kr959 SEK raised of kr550,000 goal)

Mohammed Ayman (@mohammed-gaza): Mohammed is 19 years old. He is trying to evacuate himself and 7 family members including 5 children. Their house has been destroyed and they are now living in a displaced people camp in Mawasi Khan Younis. (https://gofund.me/a0fe2508) (vetted by association. Mohammed is a friend of @maram-gaza (#196 on the  Bees and Watermelons verified fundraiser list. Also vetted by association. Maram is a friend of @yousefjehad3 (#255 on the verified fundraiser sheet vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi))) (€175 raised of €70,000 goal)

Alaa (@alaa-syam): Alaa has 3 children: Raghad (15), Ahmed (10) and Ismael (14). Ahmed suffers from a serious eye condition but has not been able to receive medical treatment. Alaa is fundrasing to provide for basic necessities and medical treatment for Ahmed. (https://gofund.me/0a8f5756) (vetted by association. Alaa is a sister of @yousefjehad3 (132 on the Bees and Watermelons verified fundraiser list, shared by 90-ghost and listed as #255 on the verified fundraiser sheet vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi)) ($231 CAD raised of $30,000 goal)

Noha Ayyad (@nohaayyad19): Nour lost her only child (two-and-a-half-year old) and her husband in the 2014 war. Her home has been destroyed. Her mother suffers from arthritis and back pain, and her brother Darwish suffers from paralysis in his right leg and needs regular treatment. She seeks to evacuate her 17 family members out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/00cf57d2) (#78 on the Operation Olive Branch verified fundraiser list) 

Anas Al-Sharfa (@anasalshrofa): Anas dreams of being a doctor but his uni has been destroyed. Their younger siblings are at risk since they haven’t received their vaccinations and there is an outbreak of polio. His brother suffered from jaundice and there is no treatment. (https://gofund.me/589a25a1) (#913 on the Butterfly Effect Project vetted fundraiser list)

11 September

Baraa Al-Shorfa (@baraaalshrafa): Baraa is 15 years old and from a family of 6 with 4 children, the youngest of which is 8 years old. The bombings have injured her father in the head and the eye, as well as injured her 8-year-old brother in the head. Her younger brothers have not received vaccinations, and are suffering from skin diseases. (https://gofund.me/cdb2a3a0) (#911 on the Butterfly Effect Project verified fundraiser list) (Only €353 raised of €50,000 target)

Abdullah Khaled Al-Haj (@abdallaalhaj): Abdullah is 21 years old. His father died in his arms waiting for a treatment that he could not receive. He, his mother and his sisters, a total of 6 people, struggle to meet their basic needs. (https://gofund.me/b3e43c32) (promoted by @/bilal-salah0 (#132 on the verified fundraiser spreadsheet vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi)) (£205 raised of £50,000 goal)

Ayman (@aymanlove): Ayman is a recent uni graduate. He has lost his father and 3 older brothers during his uni years. He was about to propose to his love Duha and had saved money for their wedding when Oct 7th happened. He is trying to evacuate himself and his mother. His mother is very ill and requires an urgent joint replacement surgery. He also really wishes to mary Duha. (https://gofund.me/c64ed4a8) (vetted by association. Ayman is a friend of @/ahmad-syam-blog (#171 on the Bees and Watermelons verified fundraiser list. Also vetted by association through @/yousefjehad3 (#255 on the verified fundraiser sheet vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi))) ($135 USD raised of $40,000 goal)

Huda Mahmoud & Moataz (@huda-gaza): Huda and Moataz were newly wedded when the current war happened. Huda is pregnant right now and she is afraid of losing her baby now as they have to worry about diseases like polio. They are trying to leave Gaza. (https://gofund.me/012b7ab2) (vetted by association. @/huda-gaza is a sister of @/ayoosh-gaza (vetted and promoted by @/gaza-evacuation-funds), see here for proof)

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 13 - 25 July.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 26 -29 July.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 30 July - 1 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 2 - 5 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 6 - 10 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 11 - 14 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 15 - 18 August

Click here for my Masterlist for fundrasiers from 19 - 21 August

Click here for my Masterlist for fundrasiers from 22 - 24 August

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 25 - 28 August

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 29 August - 1 September

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 2 - 5 September.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 6-10 September.

How does vetting and verification work? See post here. (also read comments regarding 90-ghost and why we trust the campaigns he has shared)

Click here for my Google Doc with my complete masterlist of all the Palestinian gfm asks I've received, updated daily (along with other verified ways to send aid to Gaza).

See post here for other verified ways to send aid to Gaza.

Don't forget your Daily Clicks on Arab.org, it's free!!! and Every click made is registered in their system and generates donation from sponsors/advertisers.

[translations2]

무제시 3과 4, 자카리아 모하메드

Untitled Poems III & IV

- Zakaria Mohammed

- Translated by Lena Tuffaha

III.

People are asses. I hang bells from their necks so they can sing to me while I recline on a rock.

People are fools. I’ll hang them up in the wardrobe like winter clothes.

May’s barley is about to ripen. Each stalk has lined up its seeds in orderly fashion so they can stand at the gate of heaven.

I can line up words without meaning.

I can create meaning from nothingness.

I tie a horse near the barley and meaning overflows.

Meaning is orderliness.

Meaning is coincidence.

Meaning is a beast of burden hauling watermelons.

If only I could line things up like a stalk of barley does.

Barley takes its own life in May, and wheat opens its mute mouth in June.

My time is the end of August.

At the end of August, my trigger snaps.

Oh, if only I could live in a glass of water; my roots white, my hair green, and the sun my only god.

I have one song I keep repeating. I have one great lie I’ve attached to the ceiling with tape, so that the flies of truth will stick to it.

My head is huge like a balloon. My hand is a destitute star, the knife is a painful simplicity I do not possess, and when I arrive at meaning, it is lost to me.

                                     —from Alanda

IV.

He was crying, so I took his hand to steady him and to wipe away his tears.

I told him as sorrow choked me: I promise you that justice

will prevail in the end, and that peace will come soon.

I was lying to him, of course. I know that justice won’t prevail

and peace won’t come soon, but I had to stop his tears.

I had this false notion that says, if we can, by some sleight of hand, stop

the river of tears, everything would proceed in a reasonable manner.

Then, things would be accepted as they are. Cruelty and justice would graze

together in the field, god would be satan’s brother, and the victim would be

his killer’s beloved.

But there is no way to stop the tears. They constantly pour out like a flood

and ruin the lying ceremony of peace.

And for this, for tears’ bitter obstinance, let the eye be consecrated as the truest saint

on the face of the earth.

It is not poetry’s job to wipe away tears.

Poetry should dig a trench where they can overflow and drown the universe.

                                     —from A Date for the Crow

_

무제시 3과 4

- 자카리아 모하메드

- 레나 투파하 아랍어에서 영어로 옮김

III.

사람들은 멍청하다. 그들 목에 종을 달아 내가 바위에 기대어 쉬는 동안 나를 위한 노래를 부르도록 한다.

사람들은 바보다. 그들을 겨울옷 걸듯 옷장에 걸 것이다.

오월의 보리가 다 익어간다. 보리는 천국의 문 앞에 서기 위해 보릿대마다 씨앗을 가지런히 세워두었다.

나는 의미 없는 말들을 가지런히 세울 수 있다.

나는 무로부터 의미를 창조할 수 있다.

말을 보리 옆에 묶으면 의미가 흘러넘친다.

의미는 정연함.

의미는 우연.

의미는 수박을 나르는 수레를 끄는 짐승.

보릿대처럼 가지런히 할 수만 있었으면.

보리는 오월이면 스스로 목숨을 끊고, 밀은 유월에 침묵하던 입을 연다.

나의 시절은 팔월말.

팔월말이 되면 나의 도화선이 끊어진다.

오, 물잔 속에 살 수만 있다면; 하얀 뿌리와 초록 머리를 갖고, 태양만을 나의 신으로 섬기며.

부르고 또 부르는 노래가 있다. 진실의 파리들이 붙도록 천장에 걸어놓은 대단한 거짓말이 있다.

나의 머리는 풍선처럼 거대하다. 나의 손은 궁핍한 별, 칼은 내가 갖지 못한 고통스러운 소박함, 그리고 의미에 도달할 때, 나는 의미를 잃는다.

                                     — <알란다> 중

IV.

그가 울고 있어, 나는 그의 손을 들어 그를 진정시키고 그의 눈물을 닦아 내었다.

슬픔이 나의 목을 조르는데 말했다: 약속할게

마침내 정의가 이길 것이고, 곧 평화가 올거야.

물론, 나는 거짓말을 하고 있었다. 정의가 이기지 못할 것이라는 것도

곧 평화가 오지 않는다는 것도 알지만, 그의 눈물을 멈춰야했다.

나는 잘못 생각하고 있었던 것이다, 만약 우리가 교묘한 손짓으로, 강물 같은 눈물을

멈출 수 있다면, 모든 일이 합리적으로 흘러갈 것이라고.

그럼 모든 것이 있는 그대로 받아들여질 것이라고. 잔인함과 정의가 밭에서

함께 풀을 뜯을 것이고, 신은 사탄의 형제가 될 것이고, 피해자는

자기 살인자의 연인일 것이라고.

허나 눈물을 멈출 방법이 없다. 홍수처럼 흐르고 또 흘러

거짓말 뿐인 평화의식을 망친다.

그것을 보아, 눈물의 이 쓰디쓴 고집을보아, 눈을 지구상 가장 진실된

성자로 축성하라.

눈물을 닦아내는 건 시가 할 일이 아니다.

시가 해야할 일은 눈물이 흘러넘쳐 온 우주를 잠기게 할 도랑을 파내는 일이다.

                                     — <까마귀를 위한 야자열매> 중