In memory of the eponymous artist Heba Zagout
A print of one of Heba Zagout’s paintings. All of the original canvases of this Palestinian artist were destroyed
in the Israeli airstrike that killed her and two of her sons, Adam and Mahmoud, in October 2023.
Heba Zagout is a tanka in Irish and English (5-7-5-7-7 syllables), by Gabriel Rosenstock, in memory of the eponymous Palestinian artist.
it is difficult
to reassemble a dove
to get the wings right
and, of course, the beating heart –
the most difficult of all
tá sé fiordheacair
colm a chur le chéile
na sciathain, abair,
agus an croi beo, ar ndóigh,
an chuid is deacra ar fad
esko je
opet sastaviti golubicu
da dobije prava krila
i, naravno, srce sto kuca –
najteze od svega
Il est difficile
De reconstituer une colombe
Mettre les ailes en places
et, le plus dur, bien sûr
refaire battre le coeur.
zor hem de çok zor
bir beyaz güvercini
birleştirebilmek ki
kanatlarını filan
çarpan kalbini hele
en zoru en zoru en