من پێش تۆ هاتمه‌ دنیا... I Came to the World Before You

من پێش تۆ هاتمه‌ دنیا...

من پێش تۆ هاتمه‌ دنیا...

تا گیانی خۆم ته‌یار كه‌م
               بۆ گۆڤه‌ندی ژوانی تۆ
تا بێتۆیی بچێژم،
هه‌ر ساتێك بینینت...
                بۆ من ببێته‌ په‌رجۆ
 
من پێش تۆ هاتمه‌ دنیا:
تا عومری گوڵ درێژتر،
گڕی ئاگر په‌تیتر،
           ته‌می خه‌م ته‌نكتر كه‌م
تا فێر بم به‌ ئاسانی
له‌سه‌ر سنگت سه‌وز بم،
              تۆ له‌ خۆمدا بزر كه‌م!
 
من پێش تۆ هاتمه‌ دنیا
تا وا بكه‌م كارمامز
چیدی نه‌سه‌نگرێنه‌وه‌ له‌ ئاوایی و ده‌راوان
تا وا بكه‌م ته‌یروتوار
جێی چینه‌یان ناوله‌پ بێ و
                 نه‌كه‌ونه‌ ته‌پكه‌ و داوان
 
من پێش تۆ هاتمه‌ دنیا:
تا بتوانم،ئازیزم،
هه‌ركاتێ ئاره‌زوو كه‌ی،
           ئه‌ستێران وه‌ك مۆم پێ كه‌م،
له‌ تووكی نه‌رمی مه‌لان
         جێژوانێكت بۆ چێ كه‌م.
       *  *  *
من پێش تۆ هاتمه‌ دنیا:
تاچاوی خۆم ڕابێنم،
له‌ تۆفانی ڕه‌نگاندا ئادگارت ها‌وێر بكا.
تا گوێچكه‌ی خۆم فێر بكه‌م،
له‌ باهۆزی ده‌نگاندا سرته‌ت گوڵبژێربكا.
      *  *  *
من پێش تۆ هاتمه‌ دنیا:
تا بۆ نۆته‌ی له‌شی تۆ
مووبه‌مووم هه‌مووی ژێ بێ.
تا شایانی ئه‌وه‌ بم،
كلیلی ته‌خت و تاجی
خۆشه‌ویستیی تۆم پێ بێ!
 
            29/10/1996 - هێلسنكی
 
 

I Came to the World Before You

I came to the world before you
to prepare my soul
for the celebration of our rendezvous,
to taste life without you
so each moment I saw you
would be a miracle
 
I came to the world before you
to make flowers live longer
and flames burn brighter
and to disperse the sorrowful clouds,
to learn how easy it is
to come to life in your embrace
and lose you within me
 
I came to the world before you
to make gazelles
draw near to villages and wells,
to make birds feed from our hands
and elude snares and traps
 
I came to the world before you
to be able to light stars
like candles
whenever you desire, my love,
to create a place for our rendezvous
from the softest down
 
I came to the world before you
to train my eyes
to make out your features
amid a flood of colour,
to train my ears
to detect your whisper
amid a storm of voices
 
I came to the world before you
so that my every fibre
will resonate with the music of your body,
so that I may be worthy
of claiming the crown and the throne
of your love
 

I Came to the World Before You...

I came to the world before you ...
to prepare my soul
for the celebration of your rendezvous
to taste [life] without you,
each moment of seeing you …
to be a miracle for me
                      
I came to the world before you:
to make the flowers’ live longer,
and the blazes of fire purer,
and to thin out the cloud of sorrow
to learn easily
to sprout over your chest,
and lose you within me!
 
I came to the world before you
to make fawns (gazzalles)
no longer deter from hamlets and  nearby founts
to make the birds
peck grains on palms
and not to fall into snares and traps
 
I came to the world before you:
to be able, my dear,
whenever you desire,
to lit the stars like candle,
and from the soft hair of the birds
to make up a place for your rendezvous.
 
I came to the world before you:
to train my eyes,
to recognise your feature among the flood of colours.
To train my ears,
to recognise your whisper  among the storm of voices.
***
I came to the world before you:
In order for the [musical] notations of your body
every single hair of me become a string,
in order for me to be worthy,
of holding the key of the throne and the crown
of your love
 
Helsinki 20/10/1996
 

We spent a lot of time discussing the title (and first lines of each verse) of this poem and, in the end, stayed with Mahsn’s literal translation because we liked the play on ‘before’ in English which can mean either a chronological ‘before’ or ‘in front of you’.

As always with translations, there are some things that sound odd, even comic, in English and that just don’t work. This was the case with the lines, ‘to learn easily / to sprout over your chest’, the syntax of which was hard to unpack, and we struggled to avoid making the lines sound cheesy or even offensive!

It was a pleasure to translate this unashamedly romantic poem by Abdulla Pashew.

Sarah Maguire, Workshop Facilitator

Original Poem by

Abdulla Pashew

Translated by

Mahsn Majidy with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Kurdish

Country

Kurdistan