English

THE DEATH OF A HAPPY WOMAN

At the time when your Nakba1 is worn between the folds of your sex,

Your story is that of a doll, trapped in the nets of an unloved hunter.

At a time when my sisters are still climbing out the window not to marry their captors,

Your story is that of a mermaid,

Bitten on the foot by a hungry devil.

ӿ ӿ ӿ ӿ ӿ ӿ

Open the matchbox,

You'll see that things aren't so well done.

But you, you, you, you were born as a woman, you don't have to justify yourself,

You were born as a woman and from now on none of your days will be the same as your other days.

ӿ ӿ ӿ ӿ ӿ ӿ

You will grow up, happiness you will peel it,

You will get married and have many children.

ӿ ӿ ӿ ӿ ӿ ӿ

For the rest, don't forget it,

Pack your skin, it's the law.

And if you want to tune your steps to the sound of your voice,

All you have to do is to grasp Fatma's hand.

1 Word in Arabic literally meaning "disaster" but used here according to the Tunisian dialect where the word "Nakba" means "an irreversible misfortune".

EXCEPT I DIDN'T HAVE A WINDOW.

[At first it was like the sting of the storm, then like the modesty of the stone and finally like the night that fell on his eyes...] .

When a man is in pain, his memories are a mess,

When a woman is in pain, her roads are a fire.

No one holds nobility on a battlefield,

When everyone is down,

The smoke tarnishes the swords and darkens the wounds.

In the dark night a mouth looks for a greedy breast,

Sew on the skin an idyll in bloom ,

As light as time,

As heavy as the figs of words,

As ugly as a scar on a child's knee,

As beautiful as a mountain in the arms of a lake.

The rose, full of storms, teaches a dance to the links that unchain its stem:

Not being ashamed of your pain is the first step,

Taming your pain is the second step,

Drinking his pain to the point of overflowing is the most capricious of steps.

There is no life that remains intact,

There is no death that promises to be perfect,

Often joy is built on the surface of life,

But to engage in the pain of happiness you have to leave on a journey…

[At the end it was like a forgotten address, then like a weakened mourning and finally like the reflection that was lost on the dock of the years].