By Mahmoud Darwish
If I Were a Hunter

If a hunter I were
I’d give the gazelle
a chance, and another,
and a third, and a tenth,
to doze a little. My share
of the ***** would be
peace of mind under
her dozing head.

I have the power to vanquish
but that I relinquish,
and I become as pure
as the water where
she comes for a drink.

If a hunter I were
a fraternity I’d declare
with the gazelle:
“Don’t be scared of the rifle,
wretched sister, it’s a trifle.”
And we would listen, safe from harm,
to the wolf’s howls in a distant farm.