‘A Confession,’ by Tunisian Poet Sami Messelmani

Translator Sihem Hammouda shares a favorite poem by Tunisian poet Sami Messelmani

By Sihem Hammouda

Sami Messelmani, who writes mostly prose poetry, is one of Tunisia’s most distinguished poets in Tunisia. In addition to being a poet, he is also a teacher and a critic. One of his best-known works is Pillows of an Exhausted Wave.

A Confession

By Sami Messelmani

Translated by Sihem Hammouda

I realize that many
do not acknowledge me,
do not see me as a rose-seller:
one who arranges lilies
or serves up carnations

perhaps because I am too calm,
like a cold fire,
and I don’t chase the
resounding booms,
nor do I have I great desire
to lie down
like a face, its features erased

I will not be angered by their disregard,
everything they say,
will be but stray arrows
eternally drowning
in false lights

I do not care about the limelight,
their bright lights
infect me with an intellectual insomnia
shrinking my soul,
and blinding my eyes,
which
have not yet become accustomed to tapping tambourines.