Live Encounters Arab Poetry & Writing 16th Anniversary Volume Five
November- December 2025
Everything Came Late, poems by Mostafa Ebada.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
Everything Came Late
His childhood vanished
His heart slept on the streets
Unwilling to play
Or to dream
He had played and dreamed enough
Back when he should have been
A father
To children
Whose childhoods weren’t delayed.
Love was late
His head flamed with gray hair
And with regret
The letters remained secret
Eaten by spiders in their cages
And kisses became a metaphor.
Love was late
It came to him when his heart was already full of it
So he only opens it for echoes
And only replies to memories
When he started writing poetry
Not to make anyone happy
But to remember that he was once human
When the femininity of women dried up
In his eyes
And beauty became just a painting to stare at
It was late
So he found no heart
No recklessness
No secret rendezvous
He began to apologize for life
And write letters to the void
And poems
That no folds of her clothes preserve
He smiles in a woman’s face
Then turns away from her
Lest he falls in love with her
Love came
And found its doors old
And the windows half-closed
The chair empty
And no one waiting
Honesty was late
And when he decided to be transparent
Everyone wore masks
And silence became more eloquent than purity
Even folly
Didn’t come to him in its prime
It came leaning on the crutch of wisdom
So he made mistakes knowingly
And smiled while in pain
Everything became a lesson
And came late
Walking like one who flees
Walking fast
In disguise
No secret rendezvous
He began to apologize for life
And write letters to the void
And poems
That no folds of her clothes preserve
He smiles in a woman’s face
Then turns away from her
Lest he falls in love with her
Love came
And found its doors old
And the windows half-closed
The chair empty
And no one waiting
Honesty was late
And when he decided to be transparent
Everyone wore masks
And silence became more eloquent than purity
Even folly
Didn’t come to him in its prime
It came leaning on the crutch of wisdom
So he made mistakes knowingly
And smiled while in pain
Everything became a lesson
And came late
Walking like one who flees
Walking fast
In disguise
Rain on Sand
And on the road, everything fell
Quietly and orderly
The clamor sank into its well
And the sound quieted
It surrendered to a cloud
That scattered into rain on sand
The fast-moving hand fell
Side by side
With the night and the dreams
And the road you walked on
Every time you walked on it
Became a herd of dreams
That doesn’t know how to behave in crowds
And sings the same old screams
With each new passerby
And all that happened was inevitable
And deserves no praise
Promises that became part of the lips
Rest upon the brow of memory
And sing to themselves
Waiting for a rampant, rushing wave
Toward the road
Where everything disappears
Quietly and orderly.
© Mostafa Ebada
Mostafa Ebada (born 1965) is an acclaimed Egyptian journalist, poet, essayist, and literary critic. He currently serves as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram Al Arabi Magazine and holds the position of cultural advisor for several prominent Egyptian publishing houses, including The Egyptian Lebanese House, Al-Mahrousa Center, and Dar Batana. With a prolific career spanning multiple creative fields, Ebada has authored over 10 books encompassing poetry collections, cultural studies, and literary critiques, solidifying his reputation as a versatile and influential figure in contemporary Arabic literature.
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.