Poems by Ahcene Mariche

Translated by Ghalia Bedrani

23- Spring

In these fields of flowers

In these beautiful spring hours

 You always pose the right queries

To get the right stories

Though the road is very long

Merrily we walk along

You will be moved

By whatever beauty you glimpsed

                                                      Wherever you put your hands                

You find flowers in bands

Even your lungs are full

Of smells that are wonderful

The broom has flowered

It is full of spines

Briar has also prospered

Its rose shines

Brambles are still fostered

And grow in arranged lines

Even prickly pears

Take part in the parade

On each fig that appears

The bees will promenade

When the peel is removed

The delicious fruit is served

The butterfly is flying

Over the flowers

It is so stunning

To spring it adds bellflowers

Hearts are singing

Life becomes amazing

28- But, What is a Life? 

I divided life into decades

To describe the life of a human

With illustrated promenades

I presented the being of Man

Both his past and current stories

Are full of faults and worries

At the age of ten

Desire and curiosity heighten

Like adults, we want to be unbeaten

Though we become confused

And by mystery we are bemused

The belief in eternity keeps us amused

At the age of twenty

We look for more liberty

And we care for our beauty

Though we are lost teenagers

And to ourselves we are strangers

We are the best hope messengers

At the age of thirty

We are extremely thirsty

For paternity and maternity

Marital life is sometimes forced

And if acceptance is not reinforced

It is best to get divorced

At the age of forty

Our children grow to maturity

And parents lose their ability

We become more responsible

And life seems irresistible

But health is sensible

At the age of fifty

We live with anxiety

Grandparents enjoy security

We fear old age

Due to satanic damage

That we try to manage

At the age of sixty

We suffer from increased irritability

And we doubt our sanity 

For the past we are nostalgic

We regret our excessive logic

Instead of enjoying life’s magic

At the age of seventy

We still have some clarity

Destiny defies humanity

Time quickly passes

In life we should leave our traces

Before joining the vanished classes

After the age of eighty

Our lives become empty

We look just for safety

We lose our memory

Though we hope for recovery

We wait for the end of our story

29- Si Mohand Ou Mhand 

How can I not  evoke you?

You, our elocutionist

Poetry is within you

You are its protagonist

Inspiration comes from you

You are the best ironist

Si Mohand is well-known

By each ancient and new generation

You are a poet of great renown

Your thoughts have no expiration

Your poems have grown

They are keys to liberation

Revolt urged you to speak

With words you reached the peak

With woven expressions

You conveyed your depressions

You blamed society

For your anxiety

You were not a landowner

Nor did you have even a pittance

The pipe was your only partner

When you showed resistance

Of rhymed verses, you are a designer

Your poems have a great audience

You reacted out loud

To what was under a cloud

You fought strongly

Against those who act wrongly

You looked for reality

You claimed it with nobility

You had always fought

By saying what you thought

You never pretended to be earless

When there was any oppression

You were always fearless

With sweet words you fought repression

You tackled taboo subjects

That held back Kabyle society

You uncovered all the defects

That led to impiety

You praised the effects

Of sobriety

You stated many defects

And you revealed all the suspects

You wanted us to discover them

To the world you divulged them

We found them in your poetry

Reviewing them is necessary

Through which way did you not go?

You used to wander years ago

Day or night

You had excellent sight

 To many regions you used to inter

Either in summer or winter

From Algeria to Tunisia

You walked with no amnesia

Silently you were weeping

Everywhere you were sleeping

From poverty, you suffered

On your face, pains gathered

You were a solitary wanderer

And a frustrated ponderer

You were broken-hearted

Whenever situations started

                                                     You broke down every barriers

You are a hope carrier

All to which you aspired

And what you desired

Has finally arrived

If only you could have been here

Just to see and hear

All that was deprived

You used to look ahead

You were foresighted

Things were so clear in your head

That we are all delighted

Now we can go ahead

You made our path lighted

For each time its men

For each society its specialists

You are one of the Kabyle gentlemen

And one of the great verbalists

You are the best specimen

Of the Berber moralists

The path that you  traced

Is now happily embraced

Our culture is recorded

Either in films or books

Our opinions are accorded

We united our outlooks 

Your biography is saved and pictured

We will never forget you

You character is well-featured

As a star we consider you

In gold we wrote your name

You have achieved world fame

For more than a century

Asqif n Tmana has held your opinions

We still feel sorry

For ephemeral unions

We hope you rest in peace

Your admirers will never cease

Homage is rendered to you

And statues are built to honor you

Even in foreign countries

Coming generations will follow you

They will learn from you

Thanks to your stunning poetries

About your life we have written and sung

To your principles we have clung

If only you were among us

So that we may discuss

In a rhymed verse

Together we dream to converse

You are the witness of your age

Of your experience we should take advantage

From your lessons we learn

It is the best thing to earn

Your exceptional story

Should be stocked in memory