Three Poems

Abstract

Three Poems by Sherko Bekas Answer After Halabja* suffocated, I wrote a long complaint to God Before everyone, I read it to a tree. The tree cried. From one side, a bird, a postman, Said, “All right, who will deliver it? If you are expecting me to take it, I won’t reach Gods throne. Late that night, My angelic poem, dressed for mourning, Said, “Don’t worry. I will take it to the heights Of the atmosphere. But I won’t promise He will take the letter Himself. You know, the Great God Who can see Him? I said, “Thank you. Fly.” My angelic inspiration flew With my complaint. The next day, it was returned. God’s fourth secretary down, A man by the name of Obaid, At the bottom Of the very same complaint, Wrote to me in Arabic: “Idiot, make it Arabic. People here don’t know Kurdish. They won’t take it to God.” * Translator’s note: On March 16, 1988, as part of Anfal, Saddam Hussein’s military campaign against the Kurds of Iraq, Halabja withstood a chemicalweapons attack. The largest directed against a civilian population in history, it has been recognized as an act of genocide by the Iraqi High Criminal Court. Gods In the year of ’88 All the gods Could see The villagers’ bodies Spitting as they burned, But none moved. Only to light The cigarettes on their lips Did they incline their heads To those fires. Clothes Bekas* used to say, “Each joy I wear Its sleeves are either Too short or too long, Too loose or too tight On me. And each sorrow I wear Fits as if it were made for me Wherever I am.” * Translator’s note: Bekas here refers to the poet’s father, Faiq Bekas, a famous poet in his own right. Translations from the Kurdish By Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse & Halo Fariq Sherko Bekas (1940– 2013) published over twenty books and served as the founding chair for Sardam, a major publishing house in Iraqi Kurdistan. In his twenties, he joined the Peshmerga and fought the Baathist regime. Under severe political pressure, he sought asylum in Sweden from 1987 to 1992. His poems have been translated into Arabic, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Italian, French, and English. Halo Fariq is a prolific translator from English to Kurdish. He also serves as a three-star captain in the Peshmerga. poetry a portfolio of kurdish poetry right Ismail Khayat, A Girl, 2015, Sulaimani, 40 x 27, acrylic paint and colored pencils on paper. 44 WLT JULY–AUGUST 2018 ...