The stairway which leads to my room

borrows its metals from Babylon

The Prophet’s Ascension

had two movements

we fell into whirlpools

of mud

and the wind followed

his horse

A tempest went after

the sun’s steps

The Prophet swam through

waves of clouds

a river of gold

carried his vessel

and away from the sun

he reached Paradise

a Paradise made of light.

The stairway which leads

to my room

leads to an observatory

I own two telescopes

to observe stars

and black holes

and take mechanized stairs

which advance

with no advance

my hair spins

with sunflowers

-----

诗人简介｜Etel Adnan（1925–2021）

Etel Adnan 出生于贝鲁特，
父亲是叙利亚军官，母亲是希腊人，
成长于阿拉伯语、法语与希腊语交织的环境中，
成年后主要以英语和法语写作。

她既是诗人，也是画家、散文家与思想者。
她的写作始终围绕战争、流亡、女性经验、
语言的不稳定性，以及人与宇宙之间的关系。
在黎巴嫩内战、巴勒斯坦问题、
以及长期的地中海—中东历史阴影之下，
Adnan 的诗从不宏大，却异常清醒。

佾楠 | Yinan