Everybody said it was useless
Everybody said, "you're trying to lean on sun dust"
that the beloved before whose tree I stand
can't be reached
Everybody said, "you're crazy to throw yourself
headlong into a volcano and sing"
Everybody said that salty mountain
won't yield even one glass of wine
Everybody said, "You can't dance on one foot"
Everybody said there won't be any lights at the party
That's what they all said
but everybody came to the party anyway
translated by: Sharif Elmusa and Charles Doria
~ from The Flag of Childhood, edited by Naomi Shihab Nye
(Aladdin Paperbacks, 2002)
