Taskurth ( The Partridge ) Poem by Slimane Azem

when i found her crouched under a rock
she was in deep mourning
''was it the eagle that struch her,''
I wondered, '' or was she scared of the owl ?''
But it was the hunters who broke her wings!
When she raised her eyes to look up at me
I saw her swollen eyelids
as she sighed and confided her pain :
''my babies have just flown away into exile!'
where have they gone?
Injustice leaves a bitther taste in the mouth
when it strikes it spares no one !
'what's the use of crying now?'' said I
In a consoling tone. ''you're just rekindling
your old pains! Even far away they wan't forget you
make sure you won't either,
for you should always remember that
these times of blind oppression
are never to be forgotten!
someday'll come when you'll be happy again
that say you'll know your little ones
won't stand your absence any more!'
'it broke my heart to see them fly away,'
said she giving a moan! ' It's the fear of the hunters
that made them fly awak and disperse into the skies.
I'm scared their exile'll last forever,
for how could they return?
How I wish I could be more patient!
Will they forget their old mother,
who'd toiled for them all her life?'
Times are hard! Thus our lord has decided!
This is how the world goes round!
Today our fists are tied,
but the little ones'll soon fly back home
as sure as any pain will not last and must
someday come to an end!