Une seule main ne suffit pas pour écrire One Hand Isn’t Enough to Write With

Une seule main ne suffit pas pour écrire

Une seule main ne suffit pas pour écrire            
Par les temps qui courent                                 
il en faudrait deux                                 
Et que la deuxième apprenne vite  
les métiers de l'indicible:                                  
broder le nom de l'étoile                         
qui se lèvera après la prochaine apocalypse                   
reconnaître entre mille le fil qui ne casse pas
coudre dans l'étoffe des passions   
langes, capes, linceuls                   
sculpter l'aube dans un tas d'immondices 
Deux mains ne suffisent pas pour écrire
Par les temps qui courent   
et les misères qui grondent                     
il en faudrait trois, quatre    
pour que la vie daigne visiter                  
ce terrible désert blanc                 
 

One Hand Isn’t Enough to Write With

One hand isn't enough to write with
These days
it takes two
And the second needs to quickly grasp
the craft of the unspeakable:
to embroider the name of a star
that will rise after the next apocalypse
to see the unbreakable thread among thousands
to weave from the fabric of passions       
swaddling bands, overcoats, winding cloths
to carve a beginning from a pile of waste
Two hands aren't enough to write
These days
with its grinding miseries
it would take three or four
for life to bother visiting
this wretched white wasteland
 

One hand isn't enough to write

One hand isn't enough to write
in these days
it would take two
and that the second rapidly master
the craft of the unspeakable:
to embroider the name of the star
that will rise after the next apocalypse
to espy the solid thread among the thousands
swaddling clothes, shrouds, cloaks
to carve dawn on a garbage-heap
Two hands aren't enough to write
in these days
and its thundering woes
it would take three, four
for life to deign to look in on
this white wretched wasteland
 

Original Poem by

Abdellatif Laâbi

Translated by

André Naffis-Sahely with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

French

Country

Morocco