Saturday, April 16, 2011

Fadwa Touqan - liberty of a people

Liberty of a People - Fadwa Touqan 

My Liberty!
My Liberty!
My Liberty!

A cry I repeat
With anger’s very mouth
Under the bullets
Within the circle of fire
Inspite of my shackles
I run behind her
Inspite of the darkness
I follow her steps
And I remain
Carried on the tide of anger
Fighting, crying, “My Liberty!”
My Liberty!
My Liberty!
The sacred river
And the bridges
Echo my words
My Liberty!

And the two banks
Echo my words
My Liberty!
The pathways of the angry wind
Thunder, rain and hurricanes
In my homeland
Echo my words
My Liberty!
My Liberty! My Liberty! My Liberty!

Resisting, I shall engrave her name
In the earth
In the walls
In the doors
On the balconies
On the altar of the Virgin Mary
In the Mosques
In the farm roads
On every hill top and every slope
Every corner and every street
Every prison every torture chamber
On the wood of the gallows
Against all the chains
Against the destruction of the homes
Against the flames and fires
I shall engrave her name
Until I see it spread
in my homeland
Growing,
Growing
And Growing
Until it covers every inch of the land
Until the red freedom opens every door
The night escapes,
The light knocks down
The foundation of the fog
My Liberty!
My Liberty!
The sacred river
And the bridges
Echo my words
My Liberty!

And the two banks
Echo my words
My Liberty!
The pathways of the angry wind
Thunder, rain and hurricanes
In my homeland
Echo my words
My Liberty!
My Liberty! My Liberty! My Liberty!


Translated by Comte Almaviva

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