Poetry

You can sign up for our weekly poetry newsletter, curated by Mennan Salih, at arablitpoetry.substack.com.

 

Three New Poems by Maysara Salah El-Din

Three New Poems by Maysara Salah El-Din
"Once, I became / A cloud / To gain / Flight experience / And twice / I became / A brick / To gain / Experience in falling." ...

Five Poems by May Ziadeh

Five Poems by May Ziadeh
"sometimes my soul is wild, / an egret flying far / beyond the ocean’s edge, // and sometimes I curl up, / tender as an anemone when touched, / as salty and as damp." ...

‘My Father Chased the Free Bird’

'My Father Chased the Free Bird'
"It is the free bird." ...

Two New Poems by Marah Muhammad Al-Khatib

Two New Poems by Marah Muhammad Al-Khatib
"Alone / on a balcony with no air / I suffocate, grow intoxicated / Coffee cups multiply / stained with lipstick, overflowing with disappointment / taking me to a fresh bout of insomnia / and thoughts, buried before they could ever see the light." ...

‘The South, The Last Day’: A Poem for Amal Khalil

'The South, The Last Day': A Poem for Amal Khalil
The South, The Last Day To Amal Khalil By Abbas Beydoun Translated by Yasmine Khayyat The South could be the last land, The last testament, perhaps the last sip The last lira, the last medicine, the last day. From its word We can fashion a lament, a wreath, or even a prayer. We can name it after ancient trees Or turn it into a message, a museum Even a dish, a dessert The South We could not place it at the center Nor raise its mountains That remained mere hills Nor make its borders impregnable Nor sell it as history or legend It came from a single memory Eternity needed no more than that An eternity fulfilled in a day ...

New Poetry in Translation: ‘Obituaries’

New Poetry in Translation: 'Obituaries'
"The city wakes up in obituaries." ...

Rasha Omran: ‘I Want to Smile’

Rasha Omran: 'I Want to Smile'
"I want to step out on my balcony and hang my laughter out on the clothesline, so that passersby can catch hold of it, scale the wall to the fourth floor, and laugh with me." ...

New Poetry in Translation: ‘Who Am I?’

New Poetry in Translation: 'Who Am I?'
"Who am I? / I am not myself." ...

New Poetry: Maha Al Aswad’s ‘Death in Six Images’

New Poetry: Maha Al Aswad's 'Death in Six Images'
"They walk beneath the sky. As their arms extend. As they grow new arms. As they carry their children.' ...

Mahmoud Darwish: ‘Till my End and Till Its End’

Mahmoud Darwish: 'Till my End and Till Its End'
"Are you tired of walking / My son, are you tired?" ...