Aicha Bassry – Exercises on Solitude

Bassry LE P&W Vol 6 Nov-Dec 2024

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Live Encounters Poetry & Writing Volume Six November-December 2024.

Arab Poets & Writers

Exercises on Solitude, poem by Aicha Bassry.

Dr Salwa Gouda translatorTranslated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.


Exercises on Solitude

(Every woman for herself)

To leave the bed
Without searching for an arm that embraced your night.

To enter the bathroom
Without stumbling over wet towels
Or mistaking the only toothbrush.

To gaze into the mirror
To comb your hair
To shake off the lingering sadness in your heart
To arrange the collar of your dress
And to admire yourself:
“How beautiful I am without the eyes of a man.”

To say to the sun:
“Good morning, light…”
Without drawing the curtains of chronic depression.

To enjoy the rhythm of the monotonous coffee bubbles
As they boil in the silence of the spacious house
Without running your hand over the silk fabric with a sigh:
– Why didn’t I put out two cups?

To contemplate from the kitchen window
A lonely woman on the opposite sidewalk
Rocking the wait for someone who doesn’t come
Without whispering:
That woman resembles me.

And indifferently, you turn your gaze
Away from the scene of lovers exchanging love
Without feeling a pang of nostalgia.

To start your day with a silent cup of coffee

Without your eyes shedding tears.

To listen to the morning news
Without remembering yesterday’s dreams

To follow the weather forecasts
Without guessing that a rainy storm
Will delay someone from the evening appointment.

When you sit at the desk
You scold your fingers every time they attempt
To open the email or Facebook
You plunge into the blankness of the paper
Then,
You start writing a poem
In celebration of solitude
With just one condition:
That you do not cry.


©  Aicha Bassry

Aicha Bassry is a Moroccan poet, novelist, and storyteller. She has published several novels and poetry collections. She also won the International Prize for the Novel, Kateb Yassin (Algeria 2016) for the novel (Greta Garbo’s Granddaughters), the Simone Landry Prize for Women’s Poetry (Paris 2017) for her Divan (The Bathers in Thirst), and the Prize for Best Arabic Novel for the year 2018 (Sharjah Exhibition – United Arab Emirates). Her books have been translated into English, French, Spanish, Italian and Turkish. In addition, she has participated in many Arab and international cultural events (book fairs, festivals, and conferences).

Salwa Gouda is an Egyptian literary translator, critic, and academic at the English Language and Literature Department at Ain-Shams University. She holds a PhD in English literature and criticism. She received her education at Ain-Shams University and California State University in San Bernardino. Furthermore, she has published several academic books, including Lectures in English Poetry and introduction to Modern Literary Criticism, and others. She has also contributed to the translation of “The Arab Encyclopedia for Pioneers,” which includes poets, philosophers, historians, and men of letters, under the supervision of UNESCO. Also, her translated poetry anthology, entitled Dogs Pass Through My Fingers, was published recently through Alien Buddha Press in Arizona, USA. Additionally, her literary translations have been published in various international magazines.

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