Answer Yes or No
Answer yes or no
when death abruptly swoops in and asks:
Are you willing to pause your earthly journey for a brief eternity?
It is a privilege to be alone with death,
the benefit of having such a choice
happens only once.
For as long as you are able,
answer every letter arriving over the local airways
before you become a bit of the universal dust and peace.
Answer the call of the flute—
the lost impulse of the absent poets,
the incomplete painting, the unrained cloud,
the prophecy of an upcoming confession—
answer the call, the flute brings relief.
The streets exhale their emptiness,
recover their former dreams,
light up unfinished cigarettes,
invite drifters, mentally ill, outsiders and gentlemen
to jump in puddles.
And before midnight I will walk on the trembling road of the flute
and hummingbirds will bless my next flight.
Отговаряй с да или не
Отговаряй с да или не!
когато смъртта внезапно те връхлита и те попита:
„Съгласен ли си да прекъснеш земния си път за една кратка вечност?”
Привилегия да си насаме с нея,
предимството да имаш подобен избор
се случва само веднъж.
Отговаряй докато можеш на всяко писмо настъпващо по родния ефир,
преди да станеш част от вселенския прах и мир!
Отговаряй на повика на флейтата –
изгубеният импулс на отсъстващите поети,
недорисувана картина, недоизвалял облак,
предсказание за скорошна изповед,
отговаряй на обаждането, флейтата носи облекчение!
Улиците издишват своята празнота,
възвръщат някогашните си сънища,
запалват недоизпушените фасове,
канят клошари, психично болни, аутсайдери и джентълмени,
да скачат в дъждовни локви.
И преди полунощ ще вървя по трепетна пътека на кавала
и колибри ще благословят поредния ми полет.
Хайри Хамдан
Poet, writer and translator KHAIRI HAMDAN was born in 1962 in the city of Dier Sharaf, on the West Bank of the Jordan River. In 1967, his family emigrated to Jordan, where he lived until 1982. Since then, Khairi Hamdan has lived and worked in Bulgaria. He is the author of a number of books published in Bulgarian and Arabic, most recently the novel Chestnut Gardens and the poetry collection The Water Lilies of Memory. Hamdan translates poetry and prose between Arabic and Bulgarian and has been awarded several international honors for his translations, as well as for his original work.
KATERINA STOYKOVA is the author of several award-winning poetry books and the Senior Editor of Accents Publishing, where she has selected, edited, and published close to 80 poetry collections. Katerina acted in the lead roles in the independent feature films Proud Citizen and Fort Maria, both directed by Thom Southerland. She splits her time between the coast of the Black Sea and the rolling hills of Kentucky. Katerina writes, lives and thinks in two languages.
KELSEY NICHOLS is a freelance artist and designer. She blends impressionist sensibilities with eclectic materials to create work across a variety of mediums.
