Ibrahim Nasrallah

1954 / Jordan

Survivors

We are alive this morning
And are still here
We cried a lot
All night
For those who wept and those who were killed
But we are certain that hope is harder than despair
We are alive
Our sadness cannot be seen in the mirror
Our names have lost two syllables
And the souls of those who dreamt they were among us
Three nights ago
Are standing there waiting for us
At the edge of the wind
By the mountain top
This is our thousandth night after a thousand
After it will come a thousand and one nights
The garden flew to the rooftop and the rooftop flew onto the neighbourhood's playground
And the neighbourhood and the playground spread their ashes to ashes
The envoys passed by and asked the killed and the killer
Is it doomsday? Has the wolf made peace with the lamb at last?
The sun is passing
The moon is late
The survival paths are filled with rubble and the mud of shame
We will emerge fewer from every war
We will emerge fewer from every peace
From every freedom, prison, school
From every dream
Every road leads to us
Every road leads to them
And every winter and wheat field and plane
We are alive this morning
And are still here
We cried a lot
All night
For those who wept and those who were killed
But we are certain that hope is harder than despair
And every time a candle fades
We light up
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