By Shibli Sadik Sifat 

I looked through the pages of history
You don’t learn from history, it read.
I read about the people who were here before—
Before the planes came, before the ships, before writings.

I read through the pages of history.
I read about myself, again and again,
In different clothes, languages, and time.
I won with great cost; I lost with a half-dream.

From Volga to Ganga,
It’s a story of betrayal,
A story that always repeats.
I changed lands, kings and gods
Only to return with a broken heart.

The day I uttered I will not repeat,
History repeated through me.