Saadi Yousef
 
We were Greeks
Our dwellings on the borders
Of the Arabian Desert;
But we have two rivers
And some villages
And farms watered by the two rivers…
Also, we did have poets
Who knew the meters
And wrote about women and flowers.
In Kinnesrin

We built a philosophy school
(It was astonishing that Aristotle's disciples
Came to visit us from time to time
Briefing us about the last manuscripts of Athens)
But we were Greeks
And peasants
So, we didn't manufacture weapons
And didn’t train our boys to be soldiers
(Aristotle’s disciples didn't tell us that their master
Was training the son of Philip the Macedonian to conquer cities! )
The world changes they said
Even the sun will rise from the west…
……………….
………………..
………………..
 
Now, I'm jabbering,
Alone, in Kyriakus's tavern
In Sidon.
My terra-cotta wine cup blackened
My hair is gray…
And I don't know who to tell
Even in secret
That the Romans have banished me
After we became a colony;
But I think that Kyriakos
Knows that.
The world changes
They say…

Translated by the author
London 07.03.2004