On a text by Suzan Alaywan for Soprano, SA choir, and piano – ca. 7′
Commissioned by Soprano Dc. Reem Dib
Virtualy premiered on the composer YouTube channel by Soprano Rebeca Khoury, and Pianist Ramzi Hakim, choir by Lara Joe Khadar and Carla Khoury, 15 Sept 2023.
Music and Video: Wajdi Abou Diab
Poem: Suzan Alaywan
Soprano: Rebeca Khoury
Piano: Ramzi Hakim
Choir: Lara Joe Khadar and Carla Khoury
Recording: Ahmad El Kheir Studio
Mix and Master: Charbel Barq
| Sleep like an angel, | نَمْ كملاكٍ |
| like soft music, | كموسيقى خافتةٍ |
| like the kiss of a sea. | كقُبْلَةِ بحر |
| My beloved, | حبيبي |
| my broken icon. | أيقونتي المكسورة |
| Just for you, | لأجلِكَ |
| my hand is a children’s storybook, | يداي كتابٌ لحكايا الأطفالِ |
| and my voice is a lantern. | صوتي فانوس |
| Sleep as deep as my insomnia. | نَمْ عميقًا كأرقي |
| I see a cozy café | أرى مقهى حميمًا |
| like a shell in an ocean. | كصَدَفَةٍ وسطَ مُحيط |
| I see children making tearboats out of our poetry. | أرى أطفالاً يصنعونَ من قصائدِنا زوارقَ دمع |
| I see their wings touching the surface of our sobbing, | أرى أجنحتَهُمْ تلامسُ سطحَ بكائنا |
| trembling, falling. | ترتعشُ تهوي |
| I see the world as a blue chamber. | أرى العالمَ حجرةً زرقاء |
| Do you see what I see? | هل ترى ما أرى؟ |
| The universe begins with my eyelid | العالمُ يبدأُ من أهدابي |
| and ends at your shores. | وعندَ شاطئيكَ ينتهي |
| Do you see me in the mirrors, | هل تراني في المرايا |
| loving you and raving? | أحبُّكَ وأهذي؟ |
| Sleep | نَمْ |
| like an ancient desire, | كرغبةٍ قديمةٍ |
| like a city on a god’s fringe. | كمدينةٍ على هُدْبِ إله |
| As the sleep hammock | أرجوحةُ النعاسِ |
| can’t accommodate two. | لا تتّسعُ لاثنين |
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