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


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This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 20 May 2024.

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