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SAADIAH MUFARREH 1 I want nothing more than wings or my soul to cease yearning for flight. 2 I want to cry out with all my might without waiting for any question. 3 I want to free myself from everything that keeps my tears from their deferred goal or their final dot on the line. 4 I want to sing without being obliged to compose words, improvise a tune, or raise my voice. 5 I want an earth whose map I can draw in accordance with the topography of my face, cleaving its rivers and seas by way of my tears. 6 I want another earth I can conceal in my chest whenever I want to leave the house without an abaya. 7 I want a tree that sings, a sparrow that makes a truce with the wind, a sea that writes its memoirs each dawn, and a passport that is accepted at all airports. 6 BANIPAL 43 – CELEBRATING DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES
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SAADIAH MUFARREH 8 I want an umbrella adorned with a carnation, a book open to the index, and fingers skilled at tapping on the keyboard. 9 I want nothing more than a comfortable pillow and dreams whose events unfold in accordance with scenarios written in advance. 10 I want an old story with a happy ending to tell to the children while pointing at pictures of its heroes in the family album. 11 I want nothing more than a simple, beautiful frame for a primitive picture I drew in graphite and coloured pencils to give to a distant friend. 12 I want my room to expand to contain all my many books or for a fit of madness to strike me so I will burn them. 13 I want a sweet memory, a poetic certainty, and a new day. 14 I want a sliver of incense to put on a burning ember so the perfumed fragrance will spread while I drink my morning coffee BANIPAL 43 – SPRING 2012 7

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SAADIAH MUFARREH

1 I want nothing more than wings or my soul to cease yearning for flight.

2 I want to cry out with all my might without waiting for any question.

3 I want to free myself from everything that keeps my tears from their deferred goal or their final dot on the line.

4 I want to sing without being obliged to compose words, improvise a tune, or raise my voice.

5 I want an earth whose map I can draw in accordance with the topography of my face, cleaving its rivers and seas by way of my tears.

6 I want another earth I can conceal in my chest whenever I want to leave the house without an abaya.

7 I want a tree that sings, a sparrow that makes a truce with the wind, a sea that writes its memoirs each dawn, and a passport that is accepted at all airports.

6 BANIPAL 43 – CELEBRATING DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES

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