I Confess That I Have Lived My Life Poem by Fadhil Al Azzawi

I confess that I have lived my life:
I tasted so many things
And forgot thousands more.
I loved women, I forgot to count how many
Cried over me.
I found friends for good times
And friends for bad ones.
I lived among forgotten victims
And learnt with my skin
The whips of executioners in prison cells.
I stood before unjust courts
Accused of blind love.
I wandered from desert to desert
And set up my tent in fairyland.
I let my horse drink from the waters of al-Kawthar.
I slept among thieves on the shores of Tigris
And sometimes lived in the castles of kings.
I travelled to cities, swimming in darkness.
I sat in the sun, and walked through snow,
Changing one land with another,
One pair of shoes with another.
I burned so many bridges behind me
And sailed in seas that could never be crossed.
In a time of drought I sowed seeds
In the valley of rains.
In darkness I lit thousands of candles.
Under the waking moon
I sighed like an old man in love
And wandered between continents.
How many times have I built paper palaces in my dreams?
How many times have I swapped reality for illusion?
I've told the truth and I've also lied.
I've doubted a little and believed a little.
I've smoked all brands of cigarettes,
Drunk in bars the best vintage wines
And written the poems of my life.
I've laughed so much in this world.
I've cried so much in this world.
I've passed by like a light in the night.
I've been here and I've seen,
I've stayed and I've left.
I confess that I have lived my life.