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Night in the English Village

August 27, 2024
translated by Khaled Mattawa We, people from villages, know the night:The date palms seal our mirrors.No palm fronds swaying in the distance.Or flopping swordfish that wandered to our stream.We scamper to our mothers,close our eyelids in the bliss of warmth.A lullaby takes ustoward what appears like Hijazand Najd.Only then,we are who we are. Has the...

Paradise of the First Buffaloes

August 27, 2024
translated by Khaled Mattawa If only this country, that was once waterwould return to what it was: water. What to say for myself now that time has pushed me to the edge,now that the covenant has broken. Baghdad is a prison,Basra stricken with cancer,Al-Qaeda in Mosul. What brings water and fire together?What brings clay to...

Nature 2

August 22, 2024
translated by Khaled Mattawa The remains of Atlantic hurricaneshave reached my house in the suburbs.You are afraid to venture out even for a minute;the Atlantic Ocean is knocking at your doorand it’ll knock your head if you open. Calm down, Saadi. Go back and stay happy in the upstairs room.

The Child Speaks by Liliana Maria Ursu

May 28, 2019
tears down his cheeks then onto the paper meant to capture spring. When asked about his parents, he blurts: “At night mother washes the stars and during the day clothes for two families. Evenings she irons out words, to unwrinkle them. And father, father puts lipsticks on fish at the market so they’re always fresh.”

Prior to the Departure by Iman Chahin Sharba

December 20, 2018
Before I was killed by a matter of minutes I was combing the hair of my …daughter And braiding her plaits With a pair of barrettes in the shape of a map. Before I died in a matter of a few minutes I was telling my husband About possible solutions for peace And assuring my...

Three Poems by Linda Abdel Baki

April 18, 2018
Incantation of Rain Under the sight of your mirror I raised the edge of my longing To uncover The ankle of the moment And started to run across the fields of revelation My mad steps Shoo the doves My heart turned a deaf ear to the lily’s songs And here I am Singing the incantations...