Poetry Expo 26
/ 20 February 2026
Before I Die
A Poetic Song About Life’s Small and Tender Wishes
Poetry Expo 2026
‘Before I Die’ is a musical–poetic video work in which Gidi Farhi performs his own poem through voice and raw guitar in stark black-and-white.
The piece unfolds as a series of simple, intimate wishes: to find a four-leaf clover and leave it growing, to raise a white donkey, to plant a garden and let the fruit fall, to touch a beloved body, and finally to walk naked in the forest under the rain. Each wish becomes a reflection on luck, faith, perseverance, love, and the briefness of life.
While the poem carries tenderness and quiet reflection, the performance intentionally introduces a mischievous, unpolished edge. The rough guitar sound and minimalist monochrome aesthetic create a tension between vulnerability and playfulness, between contemplation and impulse.
‘Before I Die’ asks how ordinary gestures can become meditations on mortality, and how the smallest acts in life can hold a world of meaning. It invites the viewer to listen closely-to the poem, to the breath behind it, and to the fragile yet stubborn desire to live fully, even in a fleeting moment.
The project is part of the subthemes Symbiotic Futures – Ecopoetics in the Age of Extinction, Disrupted Realities – Poetry and the Politics of Truth, The Poetics of Care – Intimacy, Tenderness, Repair.
Author
Gidi Farhi
Gidi Farhi is a Berlin-based musician, composer, and vocalist whose work expands musical boundaries while remaining deeply rooted in emotional clarity and artistic integrity. Trained in jazz and Oriental music, yet guided by a spirit of exploration, he creates richly textured soundscapes that weave together improvisation, global influences, and lyrical storytelling.
His artistic practice ranges from introspective poetry and songwriting to collaborations with poets, dancers, and interdisciplinary ensembles. Living at the intersection of cultures and artistic forms, Farhi’s work invites audiences to feel, reflect, and encounter something unexpected yet profoundly resonant.
Recent projects include Genes, a live-composing trio whose debut album Presents of Presence was released in 2020; the Berliner Orient Ensemble, dedicated to blending Jewish and Arab Middle Eastern musical traditions; "Gidi & Mati" - a collaboration with the poet Mati Shemoelof; and "Shirei Sade" ("Songs Of The Field") - an album of his own songs.
