Dear Brother, Dear Sister
POETRY FORMAT, 20 May 2024
Christian Egge - TRANSCEND Media Service
No matter whether you speak Hebrew or Arabic
it is of no consequence to me
I only see
a human being
It is too late to create a Jewish state
as it is also too late
to create an Islamic state
regardless of holocaust or nakba –
A Christian state?
God forbid
It’s about time
to raise awareness
above the kippah and the kufi
above the head scarf and hijab
above the tie-
or better into the heart
It’s too late to believe
that you are chosen by God
we must choose
each other
Dear sister, dear brother
white, black, Hindu, Buddhist, Romani, Jew
It concerns me not
those who want to create a society
based on this: being human
are the leaders of our time
Young men and women
in Israel, Palestine, Russia, Ukraine, Norway, USA
rise against the madness
stand up for Man
these old men with ties or turbans
who believe they have the right to rule –
show that they are irrelevant
Don’t let yourselves be seduced by the myths of the past
but create a new one
which can bring peace
If God exists
then he has handed over the reins
to us
this is the only hypothesis that can work
whether Jew, Christian or Muslim:
man is sacred
and so the earth
_________________________________
Christian Egge is a Norwegian author and teacher.
The original version was first published by the Norwegian weekly Dag og Tid on 23 Feb 2024.
Translation from Norwegian by Nils Langeland
Tags: Humanity, Humans, Poetry
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 20 May 2024.
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