Tree of Hope

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Tree of Hope

POET: Debebe Seifu (original: Amharic አማርኛ)
Translator: Mitiku Adisu

When my hope like a tree was clipped
Knocked down, pulled up
And about to snap;
As a glimmer of light dimmed
And the eye of day shuttered;
I spread and wrapped myself in sackcloth,
Unaware New Year* was here,
Unaware of Adäy my flower;
I sat in the belly of a dense night
Intent to unfocus my thoughts,
To rebuke a weepy heart
And pin my hope on despair.

* Note: Ethiopian New Year is in September (the 11th) and Adäy flowers ( Bidens macroptera), endemic to Ethiopia, returned during this time.The poet possibly is mourning his beloved Adäy.
Blue Nile Poems. © 2018 by Mitiku Adisu. All rights reserved.



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