This poem is taken from PN Review 289, Volume 52 Number 5, May - June 2026.
Deathsongs translated by James E. Montgomery
I. Catastrophe – ‘Death That Feeds on Men’
1. Dead
Night is long and denies me sleep
distraught and crippled by vile news –
my brother Ibn ʿAmr is dead
to eyes, inflicting pain on the pain-free
My brother, ever praised by comrades
and hungry raiders, would strike in War’s
press like a keen gleaming blade
2. Fearless in War
Time struck me with terror
...
1. Dead
Night is long and denies me sleep
distraught and crippled by vile news –
my brother Ibn ʿAmr is dead
Why shouldn’t IHeroes like my beloved bring tears
cry my shock?
Time is fickle
Catastrophe is shock
to eyes, inflicting pain on the pain-free
My brother, ever praised by comrades
and hungry raiders, would strike in War’s
press like a keen gleaming blade
Why can’t I rail
at Time’s tyranny?
Why must we
be kept in line?
2. Fearless in War
Time struck me with terror
...
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