Awón/Sin // Nathalie Handal
We will tell each other that
we can't choose
between one country and another,
we will tell each other
that we will kill
even if we don't want to,
we will regret saying it
and we will start
all over again.
Your pain will hang inside mine,
mine inside yours, you will
comb my hair, and I will comb yours.
You will press your ears against my wall,
I will press mine against your body,
we will love and inspect,
we will try and live
with what follows us -
but no one can change this:
we are unable to tear
our eyes from each other.
'Awón/Sin: Aramaic. 'Awón appears frequently throughout the Old Testament, and in parallel with other words related to sin, such as chatta'th or sin, and pesha' or transgression.
Nathalie Handal is an award-winning Palestinian poet. This poem is from her forthcoming collection, Poet in Andalucía.
source
we can't choose
between one country and another,
we will tell each other
that we will kill
even if we don't want to,
we will regret saying it
and we will start
all over again.
Your pain will hang inside mine,
mine inside yours, you will
comb my hair, and I will comb yours.
You will press your ears against my wall,
I will press mine against your body,
we will love and inspect,
we will try and live
with what follows us -
but no one can change this:
we are unable to tear
our eyes from each other.
'Awón/Sin: Aramaic. 'Awón appears frequently throughout the Old Testament, and in parallel with other words related to sin, such as chatta'th or sin, and pesha' or transgression.
Nathalie Handal is an award-winning Palestinian poet. This poem is from her forthcoming collection, Poet in Andalucía.
source