Buland al-Haidari
A Dream in Four Shots
First Shot
Two eyes take up the screen
Two lips part
Sparkling teeth
And green runs deep in all coloursSecond Shot
A pair of legs feel the night without a sound
Darkness breathes death
The knife glitters
Visions of many years crowd the blade
And without a sound
The two lips close
No sign of the kiss on the mouth
Nothing but a drop of blood
And green runs deep in all coloursThird Shot
The name of the director . . . you . . . I . . . they
The name of the producer . . . you . . . I . . . they
The name of the audience . . . you . . . I . . . they
And the screen is a vast dream
And the murderer and the murdered, I
Nothing but I . . .
A meaning
Restless in a drop of bloodFourth Shot
Taken outside
The film is a flop
The director escapes from the back door
The audience spit at my palm
The film is a flop
Four takes drown in a drop of blood
. . .
But I the producer
The director
The audience
I have nothing from this world but . . .
A vast dream
I don’t have a home for my longing
A breast for my shelter
I don’t have a shelter anywhere
And because
I don’t have a shelter
I don’t have a café
A nightclub
A brothel to receive me . . .
Nor a woman in a bar
I’ll stay
And wait for the second partThe hall is empty
But for a man asleep
Translated by Abdullah al-Udhari
Page(s) 152-153
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