ممتلكات Belongings

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Translated
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ممتلكات

سأحاول تبديل كل شيء

الكرسي الأعرج

والبساط الذي يمد ألسنته على بلاط الغرفة

سأحاول تبديل البساط

لأنه يمد ألسنته على بلاط الغرفة

والكرسي

لأنه أعرج

سأحاول

قلت

فلي أسبابي

ولكم أن تنتظروا

شكل المنزل

حين يغادره الكرسي الأعرج

وتهجره ألسنة

ظلت تسعى فوق الرمل المنبث

على أرض الغرفة ...

سأحاول

قلت

لكني

لا أعرف

ان كان الكرسي الأعرج سيلبس جلباب التوبة

ويمد عرائش الحنين

ليبقى

ولا اعرف

ان كان البساط

سيكف ألسنته

عن السعي بين شقوق البلاط الآمنة

حينها

سيكون علي أن أبحث عن عاقل يرشدني

فانا أحاول تبديل كل شيء

وأحاول تغيير كل شيء

احاول أن أركل اليوم المكرر

وأن أحرر أصابعي

من لحاء شجرة المطاط المزروعة في أعلى السماوات

وأن أعيد ترتيب ما أملك

وما أملك

ليس سوى قصائد جاثية على باب النسيان

وكرسي أعرج

وبساط يمد ألسنته هازئا

...

Belongings

I want to change everything:

the crippled chair

and the rug lolling its tongue across the tiles.

I want to change the rug

because it stretches its tongue across the tiles

and the chair

because it is crippled.

I will try,

I said,

I have my reasons -

and you can wait

to see how the house turns out

when that chair has gone

and the rug, crawling in the dust,

has deserted the tiles.

I will try,

I said,

but I don't know

if that chair

would wear sackcloth and ashes

and plead with me

to stay.

And I don't know if the rug will ever stop

bothering the cracks -

so I must find a wise man to guide me

because I want to change everything

I want to kick out this routine

and free my hands to do my will.

I must rearrange everything

and all my possessions

are nothing but poems waiting to be read -

a crippled chair

and a joke of a rug.

This was the third workshop we’ve devoted to the poetry of Abboud al Jabiri and, as with the others, it was a real pleasure to bring his poem into English. His poetry, unlike a good deal of poetry in Arabic, translates well into English. This is because it’s relatively simple, relying on concrete imagery and eschewing complex metaphors.

As you’ll see if you compare our final version with the literal translation prepared by Worod Musawi, we’ve stuck quite closely to her text.

However, there was one image, towards the end of the poem, which Worod translates as ‘to free my fingers / From the rubber tree who planted above of the sky’ which, however much we tried, we couldn’t make sense of and get into good English – so we abandoned it as we felt it would have distorted our version. Sometimes translators have to make tough decisions!

Belongings

I try to replace everything

The cripple chair

And the rug stretches it tongue on the tile room

I will try to replace the rug

Because it's stretches the tongue on the tile room

And the chair

Because it cripple

I will try

I said

So I have my reasons

And you have to wait

For the new shape of the house

When the cripple chair, will leave

And deserts from a tongues

Moving on the spread sands on the floor

I will try

I said

But I don't know

If the cripple chair will wear the robe of repentance

And extend the longing bowers to stay

And I don't know if the carpet's tongues

Refrain moving between the floor cracks

Then

I must look for a wise man to guide me

Because I try to replace everything

And I try to change everything

I try to kick the repeated day

And to free my fingers

From the rubber tree who planted above of the sky

And I have to arrange my belonging

And my belongings are

Nothing but poems knees on the door of forgetfulness

A cripple chair

And a giber rug stretching it tongues

Original Poem by

Abboud al Jabiri

Translated by

Worod Musawi with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Arabic

Country

Iraq

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ممتلكات Belongings

ممتلكات

Belongings

Belongings

Original Poem by

Translated by