Poetry

Those Who Die While We’re Unaware

Ghassan al-Jibai

Those who die while we’re unaware
And grow older in the graves,
I wonder, what do they think of?
Are they pessimistic?
Do they have the same dreams as us
Or is it only the living who feel pessimistic and dream?
Do they mock our agonies,
Or do they shed tears in secret like us?
Why, then, do they smile whenever we mention them,
And why do they sit stealthily among us,
Without asking for permission,
Dance and revel,
And release from our windows
The doves of speech and the bees of kisses,
If we feel tired, fall silent
Or lose hope?

There Is Light

Da'ad Haddad

In spite of her short life, Da’ad Haddad (1937-1991) left her mark on the Syrian literary landscape. In her life, she only published two books of poetry, “Correcting the Mistake of Death” and “A Crumb of Bread Is Enough for Me.” A third book, “The Tree That Bends Towards the Ground” was published post-humously. All three were compiled into her complete works entitled “I Who Am Driven to Tears by the Intensity of Poetry.”
 
In her poetry, there is an insistence on confronting misery and injustice, an invitation to contemplate beautiful objects, no matter how small, a glorification of mother nature and an observation of the flux of life, which is not devoid of biting satire or intimate communication.
 
This text is translated from the Arabic by Fawaz Azem. The Arabic text is from Jehat.com
 

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