A N G E S S O M   I S A A K
__________________________________________________________

FREEDOM'S COLORS

 

Translated by Charles Cantalupo & Ghirmai Negash

 

I saw a color
Unbelievably bright
And like a powerful wind
Encompassing the sky
Mirrored across the sea
And pouring freedom
All around me.

I remember it again –
The one and only true
Color of freedom:
I never saw such white,
Such red like blood,
Yellow to pale all yellows
And blue beyond God's grace.

But freedom shines less now.
The colors run into each other.
I can't see one color alone.
I don't know why,
And never could I have imagined
My vision ending like this:  black,
Blacker than a crow's eye.

Whether my vision has changed
Or if I have become smarter –
Again I don't know, but I don't see
Freedom in one color only,
As I roll my eyes like a chameleon,
Becoming whatever color I see
To survive. 

I experience freedom
As more than one color.
I understand freedom
As more colors than one –
More than I have ever seen,
More than I have ever heard,
And more than I can explain.

 

 

 

back to Eritrean portfolio

back to issue three

 

[ page 1 of 1 ]