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Poetry

From “Dreams of a Berber Night, or The Tomb of Thorns”

By Siham Bouhlal
Translated from French by Emma Ramadan

Your pain
Scars my blood
With a fire
Always smoldering

Your smile
Escapes
Their chains
To light up
My body

I sink
Into the darkness
Of your night
To drink it in

Heart in     embers
I cross
Your night

I would like to hide myself in you   chisel
time to the rhythm of your heartbeat
cover the rose in the sky with your sheet
I would like to sleep in your kiss   not
wake up only dream in your night
I would like to be that dream hovering on your eyelashes
that destiny traced on your hand
I would like to divide myself and reside in
each hair on your skin
Watching you, I would like
to annihilate myself in you

From Songes d’une nuit berbère ou La Tombe d’épines. © Siham Bouhlal. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2016 by Emma Ramadan. All rights reserved. 

English French (Original)

Your pain
Scars my blood
With a fire
Always smoldering

Your smile
Escapes
Their chains
To light up
My body

I sink
Into the darkness
Of your night
To drink it in

Heart in     embers
I cross
Your night

I would like to hide myself in you   chisel
time to the rhythm of your heartbeat
cover the rose in the sky with your sheet
I would like to sleep in your kiss   not
wake up only dream in your night
I would like to be that dream hovering on your eyelashes
that destiny traced on your hand
I would like to divide myself and reside in
each hair on your skin
Watching you, I would like
to annihilate myself in you

From Songes d’une nuit berbère ou La Tombe d’épines. © Siham Bouhlal. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2016 by Emma Ramadan. All rights reserved. 

from Songes d’une nuit berbère ou La Tombe d’épines

Ta douleur
Marque mon sang
D’un feu
Jamais apaisé

Ton sourire
Echappe
A leurs chaines
Pour illuminer
Mon corps

Je m’abîme
Dans le noir
Da ta nuit
Pour la boire

La cœur en     braises
Je traverse
Ta nuit

Je voudrais me cacher en toi   ciseler le
temps au rythme de tes battements
revêtir le rose du ciel sous ton drap
Je voudrais dormir dans ton baiser   ne
m’éveiller que songe dans ta nuit
Je voudrais être ce rêve sur tes cils posé
ce destin sur ta main tracé
Je voudrais m’éparpiller et habiter
chaque cheveu sur ta peau
Je voudrais tout en te regardant
m’anéantir en toi

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