Eight Poems by SAID
translated by Mark Burrows
lord
i refuse
to engage prayer as a weapon
i wish it to be like a river
between two shores
for i seek neither punishment nor grace
but rather new skin
that can bear this world
___
lord
i seek you
let this search never end
look
they harass me from all sides
the proprietors of god
but never question their deity
because they fear he can’t answer
yet i entrust my prayer
to the old arson
who in searching for a new dwelling
betrayed the old houses
___
lord
before reason breaks forth
let us seek what is dark
within us
the painful ways of desire
before the errors of culture blind us
lord
give me new skin
and don’t ignore the murmuring of my flesh
___
i don’t pray only to you o lord
but also to the wind and plain
because i want
to lessen the gap between you and nature
so that you might bear the weight of my words
look
my word eavesdrops on stones
in seeking to find a way to you
so keep silent and listen to the gait of my speech
which submits to your silence
___
banish
o lord
the prophets of the day
who only want to tame me
abolish the laws
the blunt handiwork of the sated
and lead me into a place
that soothes my brokenness
that listens to me
without demanding loyalty
___
lord
i don’t want a ravenous wolf
or a soft pillow
but only a clearing
look
i’m sitting in the shadow of your tales
and persevere
don’t fear me
or my bold wishes
grant me a space between
a wordless space close by
___
Once long ago
the grass knew a thousand prayers
that didn’t contradict each other.
Once long ago
the grass was pleasant even to strangers
and married every threshold.
Once long ago
the grass knew the grace of waiting
and recognized the reaper’s footsteps.
___
the wild hair of mourning
the weighty psalmody
the quiet murmur of things
about the stern and peaceable one
who wants to be separated from the angels
outside are paintings of the saints without wild animals
exhausted foreigners and flags
while within are ashes without mystery
garbage and grace
SAID left his homeland of Iran as a seventeen-year-old, coming to Germany to study and, eventually, becoming a resident and citizen. His many books—poetry, short stories, a memoir, and radio-plays—have established him as one of Germany’s most celebrated writers. From 2000 – 2002 SAID served as President of the PEN Center in Germany; he is the recipient, among many other prizes, of the Adelbert-von-Chamisso Prize (2002) and the Goethe Medal (2006) as well as the “Bundesverdientstkreuz,” the highest honor for public service accorded by the German government (2014). A volume of his poems, Psalmen (Beck Publishing House, 2007) recently appeared in an English-language translation by Mark Burrows as 99 psalms (Paraclete Press, 2013); the first six of these poems are taken from this collection. The last two are new and previously unpublished poems.
Mark Burrows, editor of “In Poetry” for ARTS, has translated several German-language books into English, among them two volumes of poems: SAID’s 99 psalms and Rainer Maria Rilke’s Prayers of a Young Poet, both published by Paraclete Press in 2013. A historical theologian by training, his academic work explores the literature of mysticism and the relationship of theology and poetry, from antiquity to the present. His poems have appeared in many journals, and a volume of his own poems, The Chance of Home, will appear next year. He is currently professor of religion and literature at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany. The poems from 99 psalms appear with the permission of Paraclete Press.
i refuse
to engage prayer as a weapon
i wish it to be like a river
between two shores
for i seek neither punishment nor grace
but rather new skin
that can bear this world
___
lord
i seek you
let this search never end
look
they harass me from all sides
the proprietors of god
but never question their deity
because they fear he can’t answer
yet i entrust my prayer
to the old arson
who in searching for a new dwelling
betrayed the old houses
___
lord
before reason breaks forth
let us seek what is dark
within us
the painful ways of desire
before the errors of culture blind us
lord
give me new skin
and don’t ignore the murmuring of my flesh
___
i don’t pray only to you o lord
but also to the wind and plain
because i want
to lessen the gap between you and nature
so that you might bear the weight of my words
look
my word eavesdrops on stones
in seeking to find a way to you
so keep silent and listen to the gait of my speech
which submits to your silence
___
banish
o lord
the prophets of the day
who only want to tame me
abolish the laws
the blunt handiwork of the sated
and lead me into a place
that soothes my brokenness
that listens to me
without demanding loyalty
___
lord
i don’t want a ravenous wolf
or a soft pillow
but only a clearing
look
i’m sitting in the shadow of your tales
and persevere
don’t fear me
or my bold wishes
grant me a space between
a wordless space close by
___
Once long ago
the grass knew a thousand prayers
that didn’t contradict each other.
Once long ago
the grass was pleasant even to strangers
and married every threshold.
Once long ago
the grass knew the grace of waiting
and recognized the reaper’s footsteps.
___
the wild hair of mourning
the weighty psalmody
the quiet murmur of things
about the stern and peaceable one
who wants to be separated from the angels
outside are paintings of the saints without wild animals
exhausted foreigners and flags
while within are ashes without mystery
garbage and grace
SAID left his homeland of Iran as a seventeen-year-old, coming to Germany to study and, eventually, becoming a resident and citizen. His many books—poetry, short stories, a memoir, and radio-plays—have established him as one of Germany’s most celebrated writers. From 2000 – 2002 SAID served as President of the PEN Center in Germany; he is the recipient, among many other prizes, of the Adelbert-von-Chamisso Prize (2002) and the Goethe Medal (2006) as well as the “Bundesverdientstkreuz,” the highest honor for public service accorded by the German government (2014). A volume of his poems, Psalmen (Beck Publishing House, 2007) recently appeared in an English-language translation by Mark Burrows as 99 psalms (Paraclete Press, 2013); the first six of these poems are taken from this collection. The last two are new and previously unpublished poems.
Mark Burrows, editor of “In Poetry” for ARTS, has translated several German-language books into English, among them two volumes of poems: SAID’s 99 psalms and Rainer Maria Rilke’s Prayers of a Young Poet, both published by Paraclete Press in 2013. A historical theologian by training, his academic work explores the literature of mysticism and the relationship of theology and poetry, from antiquity to the present. His poems have appeared in many journals, and a volume of his own poems, The Chance of Home, will appear next year. He is currently professor of religion and literature at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany. The poems from 99 psalms appear with the permission of Paraclete Press.
