O Maidens I Am Thirsty Poem by Ahmed Fouad Negm

O young maidens, I am thirsty
I am a lover…on the highway
Thirsty
And the water in my country
Runs in opposite direction to The Nile
And the palm trees are elastic
And the roots are shallow
And humiliated
And the wind blows in opposite directions
Repressing
And the breeze changed color to the muddy dirt
From the peoples' troubles
O dear friend
I am thirsty and The Nile is in my country
And the grass is green
And pretty
Yesterday, I used to be free
But this day today
I have become riddled with repression
Thirsty…My love is the only cure
I drink from passion a testament
And the testament of love is works
And the talk of love is passionate

Each time I intend repentance
I am seduced by the past
It harvests in the heart's gardens
And the young birds hatch
Lovers, O nesting pigeons!
And we have no other alternative
It's a path and we are destined
To walk
Generation after Generation
On thorns
We enforce our footsteps
The lanterns illuminate
Around us, the hearts of the lovers
Our minds, with us is testament
And the sun is dripping droplets
And the source
Is the Nile River
And if they put the blame on us
Let them
We will not be walking for them
What is 'the thorns of passion'?
But blame.
And thorns
Are essential to the original rose
Take me along that path
Take me along that path

Translated by:Walaa Quisay