Salman Masalha

WHEN THE TIME COMES

When the time comes with the blood and sweat,
bring a bucket along to hold the tears.
And now is the moment, amid the woes
to record the savage ordeals.

For nothing will cause the wound to close
that gaped open when the evils arose.
Only the blood that abundantly flows
and divided rumors from the truth

will link the rib bone and the dust of the earth –
which in sorrow brought forth fruit and omens –
to the glory of life together with Nature,
filled with wordless communication:

cyclamens springing from the rock,
tweets from mountains, from hills.
From a meadow, cloven hooves shall trot,
from sunsets, the flute shall trill.

When the time comes with the blood and tears
Man, be of good hope for future years.
This is a time to cure the plague,
defang the maw of the past.

Sever the birth cord from the malign.
Amnesia saves, bear this in mind:
Deranged memory is the crime
breathed into Man by Lords of Hosts.

Translated by Vivian Eden from the Hebrew in Haaretz Tarbut Vesifrut, October 13, 2025

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