Wishes

By Riad al-Saleh al-Hussein

I wish to go to the village
To harvest cotton and breathe fresh air
I wish to come back to the city
In a van full of peasants and lambs
I want to wash in the river
Under the moonlight
I want to see a moon
In a street, a book, or a museum
I want to build a room
Enough for a thousand friends
I want to befriend the sparrow, the air and the stone
I want to put a river
In prison
I want to steal the jail cells
And throw them into the sea
I want to be a magician
And hide a knife in my hat
I want to reach my hand inside
And pull out a white song
I want to possess a pistol
To aim at the wolves
I want to be a wolf and swallow the shooter
I want to hide in a flower
Because I fear the killer
I want the killer dead
Whenever he sees roses
I want to open a window
In every wall
I want to build a wall
In front of whoever closes the windows
I want to be an earthquake
To shake the idle hearts
I want to place in every heart
An earthquake of wisdom
I want to snatch a cloud
And hide it in my bed
I want the thieves to steal my bed
And hide it in a cloud
I want to make every word a tree, a loaf of bread or a kiss
I wish for whoever does not love trees
Bread
And kisses
To stop talking

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