Oh My Father, I am Yusif

by Mahmoud Darwish

Father! I am Yusif
Oh father!
My brothers neither love me
nor want me in their midst.
Oh father, they assault me,
they stone me and
with insults they shower me.
My brothers wish me dead
so they give their false eulogies.
They shut your door before me,
and from your field
I was expelled.
They poisoned my grapevines,
oh father!
When the passing breeze
jested with my hair,
they all became envious,
outraged at you and me.
What have I done to them, father,
and what loss have I caused?
Butterflies rest on my shoulder,
wheat bows toward me
and birds hover above my hands.
What then did I do wrong, father
and why me?
You're the one who named me Yusif!
They pushed me down the well
and then they blamed the wolf.
Oh, father! The wolf is more merciful
than my brothers.
Did I wrong anyone
when I told about my dream?
Of eleven planets, I dreamt,
and of the sun and the moon
all kneeling before me.

A video of the poem being recited by Mahmoud Darwish with English subtitles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNZpG7ox294

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