Kurdish Odyssey

Poems of Love and Alienation

Kamal Mirawdeli

• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781398424883
• Topic: Literatura
• Subtopic: Poesía de Oriente Medio

This is the first collection of the work of poet and writer Kamal Mirawdeli. It represents a powerful example of Kurdish poetry, which remains unfairly under-represented in world literature.
This is poignant, engaging and illuminating poetry. Each poem is unique and well-structured, with an astonishing variety of thought-provoking themes, ideas and styles.
"Here we have a bright cord of flame that illuminates the history, hopes, suffering and defiance of a nation which may be in chains but will not be defeated. Here, time and time again, we have an apt, vivid, and inventive language which draws us into the surprise of the poem. [Kamal Mirawdeli] belongs not just in the land and language which gave him birth and identity but in every living being and inanimate object that populates the world of his poetry.''
From the Introduction by Aonghas Macneacail

Kurdish Odyssey

I

I do not know when I started this journey

Why I started this journey

Where I am going?

When it will end?

I only remember it was a cloudy day,

A rainy morning,

With universal fog,

They made me ride a stallion

They tied my feet to the girth,

They gave me a whip and ordered me:

Gallop!

Where?

Gallop!

Why?

Gallop!

Thus, I shot through

I wrapped along the plains and valleys

I conquered mountain after mountain

I left my track on the roads, darkness, shadows

I left dogs barking in my wake

I harassed the stars

I, with the shoe of my horse, split the moon into slices

I left every slice in a section of Time.

In a station of History.

The farther I went, the closer you would come

The nearer I became, the more distant you would go

The more crowdedness and confusion would encircle me,

The more the sweet harmony of your music would nourish my soul.

The more tired I got, the more eager I would become for a nap in your lap

The more obsessed with adventurous

thoughts, the softer my head would find your thighs

The hungrier I got, the more satisfied I would feel

O God, what a journey!

O God where am I going?

– Gallop, Gallop, Gallop.

The simplicity of the melody of your lore

Opened all the mysterious knots for me

The key of light in your eyes

Dismantled all locks

I know there is a lot of distance to traverse to reach you

I can see

The tunnel of a hurricane blowing

Far away, extremely far away, beyond the tunnel

Is your temple

There, beside a small window, the moon is asleep

The sun is guarding her!

Oh, how much my ears pine for the music of that temple

Oh, how much my he...