"Evening Sun" A Poem by Gebre-Kristos Desta

የማታ ጀምበር

ካንዱ ቤት ወዳንዱ በጣራው ተራምዳ፣

የጋራውን አናት እየነካች ሄዳ፣

እዩት ከስር ጥላው፣

የማይደርስበትን፣

እዩት ሰውን ጥላው፣

ሲለፋ ሲባክን።

~ ገብረክርስቶስ ደስታ

Evening Sun

Tiptoeing roofs of neighboring hamlets,

Caressing the crown of the knoll,

See the setting sun glide by up above

And man here below;

See her leave him behind

Spent and laboring so.

Poet: Gebre-Kristos Desta

Translator’s Notes

Translation for me is the act of releasing a bird yet tethered to her habitat; the further the bird flew the stronger the tug grew! This translation is informed by Gebre-Kristos’ Landscape painting (p.10) and his rationale for preferring abstract painting as a medium; he said, “If an artist were to devote his artistic life to the reproduction of figures and forms as they exist, he would be competing with the camera, which is best suited for this type of production. An artist goes beyond the matter of the story….And therefore, the realistic is insufficient. The artist seeks to find another language to express what is beyond. This could be the reason for abstract paintings.” Let us also remember this poem was written over fifty years ago at a time when much of Ethiopia was rural.

Image: Gebre Kristos Desta, Self Portrait.