Fadhil Al Azzawi

1940 / Kirkuk, Iraq

A Statue In A Square

I dream I am a statue
In a square that carries my name,
So I try to look like a general at war
Collecting the burden of his victims
As flowers for his funeral,
And I speak at night about oblivion
To justify the confidence of mankind in me.
I think it would be better to raise my hat and praise
The sun shining down on earth
And let my statue step from its plinth
To join a battalion of angels
Returning from exile
With a cage of nightingales
That they once hunted in a deserted island.
'Release the birds,' says my life.
'Let them flow over the heads of passers-by,
Leaving for you the memories of whole eternity.'
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