Epics: The Contemporary Epic
الملحمة المعاصرة
Imad argues that the epic never died: it stopped searching for kings and started searching for the human being.
By Architect Imad DarouichUpdated 2 min read
Imad wrote this short poem about the contemporary epic, the form at the heart of his library. The old hero carried a sword and crossed deserts; the new one carries a question and crosses himself, while the labyrinth moves from castles into the mind, and architecture, stone, light and silence become the language of the epic.
لم تمت الملحمة.The epic never died.
لقد غيّرت شكلها فقط.It merely changed its form.
كانت يومًا تبحث عن الملوك.Once, it searched for kings.
واليوم تبحث عن الإنسان.Today, it searches for humanity.
كان البطل يحمل سيفًا.The hero once carried a sword.
أما الآن فيحمل سؤالًا.Now, he carries a question.
وكان يعبر الصحارى.He once crossed deserts.
واليوم يعبر ذاته.Today, he crosses himself.
لم تعد القلاع هي المتاهة.Castles are no longer the labyrinth.
العقل هو المتاهة.The mind has become the labyrinth.
ولم تعد الوحوش خارج الأسوار.The monsters no longer live outside the walls.
بل تسكن داخل الخوف.They dwell within fear.
كل مدينة محكمة.Every city is a courtroom.
وكل شارع شاهد.Every street is a witness.
وكل نافذة تراقبنا.Every window watches us.
ولا أحد يعرف التهمة.Yet no one knows the accusation.
في الملحمة المعاصرة،In the contemporary epic,
تصبح العمارة قصيدة.Architecture becomes poetry.
ويصبح الحجر ذاكرة.Stone becomes memory.
ويصبح الضوء فلسفة.Light becomes philosophy.
ويصبح الصمت لغة.Silence becomes language.
لم نعد نكتب التاريخ.We no longer write history.
بل نكتب ما يختبئ خلفه.We write what hides behind it.
فالحقيقة لا تصرخ.Truth never shouts.
إنها تهمس فقط.It only whispers.
كل لوحة ملحمة.Every painting is an epic.
وكل مبنى اعتراف.Every building is a confession.
وكل طريق سيرة ذاتية.Every road is an autobiography.
وكل إنسان كتابٌ مفتوح.Every human is an unwritten book.
لا نبحث عن النهاية.We do not seek endings.
بل عن المعنى.We seek meaning.
ولا نبحث عن الأبطال.We do not seek heroes.
بل عن الذين بقوا بشرًا.We seek those who remained human.
ربما كان imad محقًا.Perhaps Imad was right.
فالطريق أطول من المسافر.The road is longer than the traveler.
والسؤال أكبر من الجواب.The question is greater than the answer.
والإنسان أعقد من تاريخه.The human soul is deeper than its history.
هذه ليست كتبًا.These are not books.
إنها مرايا.They are mirrors.
من يفتحها،Whoever opens them,
قد يجد نفسه لأول مرة.May discover themselves for the first time.
حيث تصبح الفلسفة فنًا.Where philosophy becomes art.
ويصبح الفن عمارة.Where art becomes architecture.
وتصبح العمارة ذاكرة.Where architecture becomes memory.
وتصبح الذاكرة ملحمة.And memory becomes an epic.
More epics on this subject are in the library's Ideas & Philosophy collection, and more essays in the journal's Ideas & Philosophy section.
Written by
Architect Imad Darouich
المهندس المعماري عماد درويش
Architect, author and founder of 3DEPICS, based in New York. He writes epic literature that crosses borders, languages and geographies, where philosophy meets architecture, spirituality meets history and memory meets imagination.
