يظنونني ملكاً وأنا الملك They Think I Am a King: Yes, I Am the King

يظنونني ملكاً وأنا الملك

حاجتي للكلمةْ
حاجةُ السَّابقِ للحَجَرِ والنّارِ
حاجتُه للبَلْطةِ والرُّمحِ والدرعِ
للأُنسِ بالنايِّ..
 
أثريتُكِ
أثريتُ ظنَّ الحياةِ بأيّامِها والذئب بلياليه
أثريتُ جوعَ الفرادةِ
بقيتُ فأبقيتُ كَسْبَ السبيَّة حيّاً
 
..
 
ما أكلتهُ الحروبُ بقاياكَ
ما ألهمَ المُهمَلَ
واحدٌ من رعايا فتنتكِ المُفترِسَة!
فطنتني
 

They Think I Am a King: Yes, I Am the King

I need the Word
like my ancestor’s need for stone and fire
like his need for an axe, for a spear, for a shield
like his need for the solace of a flute...
 
I enriched you
like life is enriched by day
like a wolf is enriched by a night with no moon
I enriched the longing for transcendence
I stayed neither to preach nor to barter with the skins of animals
I stayed to bear witness to the dignity of women enslaved
 
..
 
Wars consumed your remains
Their traces captivated your disciples
in thrall to your fierce charm
You taught me
You delivered me from ignorance
They think I am a king:
Yes, I am the King
 
 
Painted sandstone figure of a flute-player, from the royal ritual bath at Meroe. The head was stolen from the museum in the 1960s. 100 bc–ad 100. uc8964
 

They think (suppose) I am a king, yes, I AM THE KING

My need (want or requirement) for the WORD
Like the need of an ancient-man1 for a stone or fire
Like his need for an axe, a spear or armour
…. Or the need for the comfort (company) of a flute
 
I enriched (enhanced) you (thee)
As life is enriched by its days and a wolf by dark nights
I enhanced the craving (yearning) for distinction (uniqueness)  
I remained here not to preach (orate) or intended to win (recompensed with) the fur (fleece)
I remained (lingered) here to keep alive the attainment of the slaved girl2
 
What were devoured (consumed) by wars were your remains (leftovers)
What inspired the unsung (unacknowledged) was one of the subjects3 of your fierce charm
You (taught) (educated) me
You led (steered) me far away by my ignorance 
 
They (Suppose) think I am a king, Yes, I AM THE KING.
 

1 ALSABIQ in this context means ancestor, the term also means the first ones, the earliest or those of antiquity

2 SABEIYA means a slaved woman caught in a war. It is a singular term (woman slave), but may (metaphorically) means plural (women slaves)

3 Subjects, as in citizens or public

Atef Alshaer, Literal Translator

Original Poem by

Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi

Translated by

Rashid El Sheikh, Atef Alshaer with Sarah Maguire Language

Arabic

Country

Sudan