I Come And Stand At Every Door

pink tulip

I like Nazim Hikmet, but I didnt know this tranlation.   I ‘ve seen at Queers without borders .

This song is a loose translation by Jeanette Turner, of the anti-war poem Kiz Cocugu (The Little Girl) by Turkey’s most important modern poet, Nazim Hikmet 1901-1963, who was persecuted and imprisoned for his outspoken Marxist views. The story is told by the ghost of a seven-year old girl, who died when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It was recorded by Pete Seeger in 1962, using the tune of “The Great Silkie”. This version is by the Byrds.

I come and stand at every door
But no one hears my silent tread
I knock and yet remain unseen
For I am dead, for I am dead.

I’m only seven although I died
In Hiroshima long ago
I’m seven now as I was then
When children die they do not grow.

My hair was scorched by swirling flame
My eyes grew dim, my eyes grew blind
Death came and turned my bones to dust
And that was scattered by the wind.

I need no fruit, I need no rice
I need no sweet, nor even bread
I ask for nothing for myself
For I am dead, for I am dead.

All that I ask is that for peace
You fight today, you fight today
So that the children of this world
May live and grow and laugh and play.

taken by Pentax K10D, at Istanbul

About these ads