“Shrieks from a mountain giving birth”
Translated By Emilie Moorhouse
Shrieks from a mountain giving birth
Her sister the ocean ceases her wild mating
The naked countryside ceases her frantic chase
And rebuffs her lover the wind.
For the golden calf will appear from the laboring flanks
He will arrive unstained from the contracting entrails
Ready to be God for us, people of so little love,
Moses prepare yourself.
Translated from the French
Notes:
Read the French-language original, “Hurlements d’une montagne qui accouche.”
This poem is part of “When Can I See You Again: The Poetry of Joyce Mansour,” translated by Emilie Moorhouse. You can read the rest of the portfolio in the June 2023 issue. All the English translations of Joyce Mansour’s poems are from Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems, edited by Emilie Moorhouse and Garrett Caples. Translations copyright © 2023 by Emilie Moorhouse. Reprinted with the permission of City Lights Books. For more information, visit www.citylights.com.
Source: Poetry (June 2023)