by Ahmad Shafie, translated from the arabic by Humphrey Davies
The poem is by Egyptian writer Ahmad Shafei and comes from his verse collection: 77 (Cairo: Kutubkhan, 2017), where it is untitled but numbered 51. Translated by Humphrey Davies
Birds
have no hands.
They don’t expect a crutch
in old age
Or a pat on the back
in their moment of weakness
Or rings
Or keys
Or a goodbye wave.
Poetry?
They sing it and don’t care.
History?
They shit in the air.
Life?
They wing it.
Death?
They die alone.
الطيور
لا يدي لها
لا تنتظر في شيخوختها
سندًا
ولا في ضعفها
،تربيتةً
بلا خواتمَ
لا مفاتيحَ
.لا تلويحة في وداع
والقصائد؟
.تزقزقها ولا تبالي
والتاريخ؟
.تخرأ من أعلى
والحياة؟
.تَطِيرها
والموت؟
.تموت فرادى
Humphrey Davies
Humphrey Davies (1955-2021) translated some twenty-five works of modern and pre-modern Arabic literature, including five Elias Khoury novels and Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq’s Leg Over Leg (1855), respectively. He read Arabic at the University of Cambridge, received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, and -- before publishing his first translation in 2003 -- worked for community development and research organizations in Palestine, Tunisia, Sudan, and Egypt. He lived in Cairo and was affiliated with the American University of Cairo. This photo was taken of him cleaning Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq's grave in Hazmieh, Lebanon.