Untitled - Azam Abidov - poet and translator

FUAD RIFKA
Fuad Rifka was born in 1930 in Lebanon. He received master’s
degree at American University of Beirut and PhD in Tülingen,
Germany. He was a Fulbright Scholar at Michigan State University
and got scholarships from The German Academic Service (DAAD),
Rockefeller Foundation, and University of East Anglia (England).
He published 13 poetry collections and 4 prose works in Arabic.
His work has been translated into many foreign languages and
published in German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. He also
translated many authors’ works from German and English. His
awards include Friedrich-Gundolf Award, Mediterranean Award
for poetry, Deutschverdienstorden, granted by the President of the
German Federal Republic, and Goethe’s Award. Fuad Rifka is a
member of literature societies in Germany, Bavaria, Norway, and
Switzerland.
What happened
to the wood gatherer?
In old times he used to sing
like a bird on the shoulder of a mountain
early in the morning.
And today he doesn’t speak,
he became mute
like a stone in a cave.
Who knows? Maybe he got tired.
When the river gets tired
it loves the flat lands
and the darkness of the sea.
August 2, 1984
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