Blindness Poem by Mohammed Bennis

This ink transports me to the heights of my breath
transports me there in triumph
it rises and my eye falls in love
rises to where my unconscious fever
unleashes disasters
festivals of henna
night that leads
to other nights of dance
the palm tree is near then
to the lost steps
neither god nor master
silence
and under the silence
a cracking surprised
like a seal that is breaking
ink stain wherein awake butterflies
word from which birds launch out
and their flight conducts me
towards blindness

Translated by James Kurkup