by Shadi Zaqtan

Translated by Stephen Sheehi

It was not a dream

Which climbed up through years

A dream which the body and place breathed

To remain with me, coming to me when tired.

It was not a dream

That became silenced despite the songs

Despite the prayer of my grandmother in the morning, every morning.

How will we be now, my Destiny?

How much longer will it last?

Rise and tell me.

Ma’am, how can I leave it?

Who other than me, will leave it sleeping in me

over years?

Sixty Years or more

How can I leave it?

How will we be now, my Destiny?

How much longer will it last?

Rise and tell me.

It was not a dream.

It was not a dream.

Which climbed up through years

A dream which the body and place breathed.

It was not a dream

That became silenced despite the songs

Despite the prayer of my grandmother in the morning, every morning.

It was not a dream.

Shadi is a guitarist, composer, singer and songwriter from Palestine. Shadi was born in exile and raised in Damascus, Beirut, Amman and Tunis. His songs are inspired by the daily lives of the Palestinians. He writes his lyrics in classical Arabic, colloquial and Bedouin dialects from poems of Palestinian and other Arab poets. His first album “About a Country” was released in 2008, the second album “Singing at the Checkpoint” in 2013.