These three poems come from Maysara Salah El-Din’s latest collection, Ibn Al-Subh (Son of the Morning).
Ultimatum
By Maysara Salah El-Din
Translated by Dr. Yasmine Hussein
I wish I had a paper plane
But don’t know how to make one.
I spent a lot of money
And read books
And watched tutorials.
Still, I don’t know.
I wish I had a paper plane.
Right now, I’ve got:
Glossy paper
Colored ribbons
A length of thread
And a little wood.
I wish I had a paper plane.
Once, I became
A cloud
To gain
Flight experience
And twice
I became
A brick
To gain
Experience in falling.
Thrice
I became a tree
To learn
How to extend the roots of my dreams.
I wish I had a paper plane.
(In truth
I don’t wish
For a paper plane
At all.)
I wish for
The joy of the child who flies it
That small child
Whose laughter
Reaches up
To his knees.
What do I do now
With the paper I have
And the colored ribbons
And the thread—
The length of which,
If I unfurled it—
Could challenge the sky.
What do I do now
Except
Try it on myself
And climb up
To the balcony railing
نفسي فى طيارة ورق
بس مش عارف
صرفت فلوس كتير
قريت كتب
اتفرجت
على فيديوهات
تعليمية
ولسه,
مش عارف
نفسي فى طيارة ورق
معايا دلوقتي
ورق بيلمع
شرايط ملونة
حتة دوبارة
وشوية خشب
نفسي فى طيارة ورق
اتحولت
مرة
لسحابة
علشان
يبقالى
خبرة
فى الطيران
واتحولت
مرة تانية
لطوبة
علشان
يبقالي
خبرة
فى الوقوع
ع الأرض
واتحولت
مرة
لشجرة
علشان
أعرف
أمد جذور
لأحلامي
نفسي فى طيارة ورق
بصراحة بقى
أنا لا نفسي
فى طيارة ورق
ولا حاجة
أنا نفسي
فى سعادة العيل
اللى بيطيرها
العيل الصغير
اللى ضحكته
لحد ركبه
أعمل ايه
دلوقتي
بالورق اللى معايا
والشرايط الملونة
والدوبارة
اللي لو فردتها
تقدر
تتحدى السما
أعمل إيه
دلوقتي
غير إني
أذوَّق نفسي
واطلع
على
سور البلكونة
فى نص الليل
الباب بيخبط
هيئته تشبه هيئه إنسان
الشعر قصير وأسود
والعين مفتوحة وسودا
والقلب سواده
مغطى على الاتنين
اسنانه نبيهة وصفرا
تخبى الصحرا
فى تفاصيلها
وشفايفه غليظة وحمرا
تخون الدم
قبل م اتحرك
كان شاغل كل فراغ
قدامى
بيقوللى تبدِّل؟؟
كان نفسه يبدِّل
جلابيته بقمصانى
لحيته بنظارتى
بندقيته بكراستى
كان نفسه يبدِّل
خوذته بأفكارى
مدفعه بمكتبى
وبيادته
بثباتى الساعة تلاتة
قصاد البحر
مستنى قصيدة جديدة
The Dark Angel
By Maysara Salah El-Din
Translated by Dr. Yasmine Hussein
In the middle of the night
There’s a knock at the door
A shape that looks human
Hair short and dark
Eyes wide and dark
And a heart so dark
It eclipses both
His yellowed teeth jut out
And could hide the desert
In their details
His lips, thick and red
Betray blood
Before I moved
He had filled all the space
In front of me
And asked, “Want to trade?”
He wished to trade
His galabeya for my button-down shirts
His beard for my glasses
His gun for my notebook
He wished to trade
His helmet for my thoughts
His machine gun for my desk
And his combat boots
For my steadfastness at three o’clock
When facing the sea,
Awaiting a new poem.
In the middle of the night
There’s a knock at the door.
A shape that’s not entirely human
Hair short and dark
Writhing like a snake
Eyes wide and dark
Temper bleeding into the colors
And the darkness of his heart eclipsing both,
Yet hungering for more.
Before I moved
He had filled all the space
In front of me
Believe me, if I could
I would have made the exchange.
Believe me, if I could
I would exchange
My isolation for your entourage
My loneliness for your courtesans
My privation for all the sources of your power
Believe me, if I could
I would kill me
And divide the wealth of my corpse
Between you and them
Believe me, if I could
I would open the door myself
And enter your religion
In throngs
I would betray the blood
And hide the desert
Believe me, if I could
I would create
A new nature
Human/Nonhuman
And dance with my
Headless and thoughtless
Corpse
Wearing my/your combat boots
And my/your abaya
And the dark eye
And the dark heart
Believe me, if I could
I would have lain hidden
Facing the sea
Until it came out of the water
And ravished the dreams
In its poems.
Believe me, if I could
I would be
Before you
And behind you
Beside you
Above you
Under you
Of you
Of your sin
Believe me
There’s a knock at the door
And if I don’t move
Now
I won’t
Blame you
If you do
فى نص الليل
الباب بيخبط
هيئته تشبه هيئه إنسان
الشعر قصير وأسود
والعين مفتوحة وسودا
والقلب سواده
مغطى على الاتنين
اسنانه نبيهة وصفرا
تخبى الصحرا
فى تفاصيلها
وشفايفه غليظة وحمرا
تخون الدم
قبل م اتحرك
كان شاغل كل فراغ
قدامى
بيقوللى تبدِّل؟؟
كان نفسه يبدِّل
جلابيته بقمصانى
لحيته بنظارتى
بندقيته بكراستى
كان نفسه يبدِّل
خوذته بأفكارى
مدفعه بمكتبى
وبيادته
بثباتى الساعة تلاتة
قصاد البحر
مستنى قصيدة جديدة
فى نص الليل
الباب بيخبط
هيئته تشبه هيئه مخلوق
الشعر قصير وأسود
وبيرقص زى الافعى
والعين مفتوحة وسودا
بتبخ مزاجها على الألوان
والقلب سواده مغطى على الاتنين
لكن طمعان فى زيادة
قبل م اتحرك
كان شاغل كل فراغ
قدامي
صدقني لو اقدر
كنت
اتبدلت
صدقني لو اقدر
كنت
استبدلت
عزلتى بكل حاشيتك
وحدتى بكل محظياتك
عوزتى بكل منابع ملكك
صدقنى لو أقدر
كنت
اقتلنى
واوزع ريع الجثة
عليك وعليهم
صدقنى لو أقدر
كنت
فتحت الباب
من نفسى
ودخلت فى دينكم
افواجًا
كنت
أخون الدم
واخبى الصحرا
صدقنى لو أقدر
كنت
استحدثت
طبيعة جديدة
إنسان / مخلوق
وارقص مع جثتى
منزوعة الرأس
والفكرة
ببيادتى /ك
وعبايتى /ك
والعين السودا
والقلب الأسود
صدقنى لو أقدر
كنت
لبدت
قصاد البحر
لحد ما يطلع م الميه
واغتصب الاحلام
فى قصايده
صدقنى لو أقدر
كنت
بقيت قدامك
ووراك
من جنبك
من فوقك
من تحتك
من صلبك
من وزرك
صدقنى
الباب بيخبط
وانا لو مش هاتحرك
دلوقتى
مش ح اقدر
الومك انت
لو اتحركت
The Slain
By Maysara Salah El-Din
Translated by Dr. Yasmine Hussein
Sitting with a blank sheet of paper
Terrified
It could turn into a boat
It could turn into a poem
It could turn into a letter
It could turn into a boat
that’s carrying a poem with a letter at the end
This idea is so like me
I placed my right hand
On my left shoulder
And my left hand
On my right shoulder
And started to comfort myself
A hot tear escaped
The boat sank
And the poem was lost.
Only the letter remains
But I don’t want to send it to anyone.
الذبيح
قاعد قدام ورقة فاضية
وحاسس بالرعب
ممكن تتحول لمركب
وممكن تتحول لقصيدة
وممكن تتحول لرسالة
وممكن تتحول لمركب
جواها قصيدة
وفي اخرها رسالة
الفكرة دي تشبهني اوي
حطيت إيدي اليمين
علي كتفي الشمال
وحطيت إيدي الشمال
علي كتفي اليمين
وابتديت اطبطب
نزلت دمعة سخنة
المركب غرقت
والقصيدة ضاعت
مفضلش غير الرسالة
مش عايز ابعتها لحد
Maysara Salah El-Din is an Egyptian poet, playwright, and translator. He has published several poetry collections and lyrical plays, including Night Musk and Bir Masoud. His works have been recognized with local and regional awards, and he has participated in numerous cultural and literary events, including the Annual Literature Conference at Cleveland State University, the Dibba Al Hisn Festival for Duo Theatre in Sharjah, the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, and the Cairo International Book Fair. Some of his poems have been translated into English, Italian, and Spanish, including his collection Secret Numbers. Many of his plays have been performed on stage. As a translator, Maysara has rendered into Arabic several notable literary works, including Douglas Stuart’s Booker Prize-winning novel Shuggie Bain, Stefan Zweig’s letters, and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar.
Dr. Yasmine Hussein is a Lecturer of English Literature at the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University. She received her MA degree in 2014 and her PhD in 2019, both in poetry. She was an Academic Visitor at the Faculty of English, University of Cambridge in 2016/2017. Her research interests include medieval, early-modern and romantic literature, especially poetry and drama, with a focus on the religious, political and social backgrounds of the eras. In addition to her academic work, she has extensive experience in both written and simultaneous translation. She has been working as a freelance translator since 2006, and a simultaneous interpreter in both national and international conferences since 2008. She has provided interpretation services for major cultural and artistic events, including United Nations and UNESCO conferences and the Gouna International Film Festival, beside various governmental and private organizations in Egypt and the Arab world. She recently translated James Elroy Flecker’s play Hassan: The Golden Journey to Samarkand into Arabic.