Live Encounters Arab Poetry & Writing 16th Anniversary Volume Five
November- December 2025
Weariness, poems by Mastoura Mesfr Alorabi.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
Weariness
I see life in the first light
Year by year
I have wearied greatly
So will the wind unfold a sprig of lavender?
But I do not fear the arrival
I quicken my steps
To live in peace.
I will go on
To a year that may be
Less fraught with confusion
And more abundant with clouds.
And I will inscribe
Life in my name
For some desires overflow into speech.
Metaphor
I am a woman
Who celebrates poems
And mellows to the rhythm’s tune
I desire
To be lost aimlessly
Not to return to the well
Boasting of metaphorical speech
I read a vision
And forget the connection between allusions
Enraptured by an absence that indulges me along the way
The poem is my soul’s delight
And within me is what the fingers say to the wind
Within me is the chrysanthemum’s turn towards its willful spring
And within me is my pride that does not die.
Flank
The ancient wind knew not my fire
For I am like the morn, gentle
And the lady of virginal passion in my soul
And the last remnant in the jars.
I did not turn
The vast expanse was my flank
And I was not caught in an event of waiting.
And I am
A dense chapter in the book of light
Fresh
And within me is the language of poetry.
© Mastoura Mesfr Alorabi
Mastoura Mesfr Alorabi is a prominent Saudi poet, literary critic, and academic specializing in modern literature and criticism. An influential cultural figure, she co-founded the Professional Literature Society under the Ministry of Culture, chaired the Poetry Platform at the Arab Poetry Academy, and served on cultural committees for major events including Jeddah Book Fair and Okaz Cultural Market. Her poetry has been translated into Spanish and English, featured in international festivals across the Arab world, and included in the Encyclopedia of Arab Women’s Poetry (2021). Her notable publications include poetry collections like “What Confused Me… What I Never Left” (2020) and critical works such as “Meaning-Making in Saudi Poetry” (2020), with her creative and academic contributions being the subject of scholarly studies and the critical book “Revelations of Meaning” analyzing her poetic works.
Dr Salwa Gouda is an accomplished Egyptian literary translator, critic, and academic affiliated with the English Language and Literature Department at Ain Shams University. Holding a PhD in English literature and criticism, Dr. Gouda pursued her education at both Ain Shams University and California State University, San Bernardino. She has authored several academic works, including Lectures in English Poetry and Introduction to Modern Literary Criticism, among others. Dr. Gouda also played a significant role in translating The Arab Encyclopedia for Pioneers, a comprehensive project featuring poets, philosophers, historians, and literary figures, conducted under the auspices of UNESCO. Recently, her poetry translations have been featured in a poetry anthology published by Alien Buddha Press in Arizona, USA. Her work has also appeared in numerous international literary magazines, further solidifying her contributions to the field of literary translation and criticism.