Ali Al-Shalah – Separation

Shalah LE P&W Vol 6 Nov-Dec 2024

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

Arab Poets & Writers

Separation, poems Ali Al-Shalah.

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


Separation

My hands wept over hers
When she was about to gather her remnants
From the shade of my soul
She turned her gaze
In the desolation of the walls
Searching for salvation in her coldness
I calmed the walls
So they would remain captive to their silence
While the winds of that hand sang for escape
I didn’t know until today
What the pain of the wall truly was
Until I saw its ice weeping
But constrained by dignity
And all the storms spoke within my blood
So I fell silent from the overwhelming
Dialogue.


After Ten Years

After ten years… I will not sit in the poets’ café,
Nor in the artists’ taverns
I will not contemplate the minaret of the ascetics
Nor the feasts of my indulgent friends for worldly pleasures
I will not rejoice in the tales of lovers
Nor will I hold the door for Zuleikhas who are reborn.

After ten years
I will not read the news of the victors
I will not weep at the shrines of the defeated
I will not contemplate the colors of paintings
Nor the dreams of the portrayed
I will not smile at lovers dragging
Their instincts in the squares
I will not build a house inhabited by others
Who curse me in it and bury the names of the builders.

After ten years
I will not walk
I will not cry
I will not laugh
I will not sing
I will not live…
I will die at the door of death alone
Refusing to leave me for a few seconds
So that my limbs may grow in this world
My language, my sighs will not help me to be exempted
I scream in it and in me
Why today?
Why after ten years?
Why death?


© Ali Al-Shalah

Ali Al-Shalah (1965) born in Babylon, Iraq. He obtained a BA in Literature from the College of Arts, University of Baghdad, 1987 and an MA in Modern Literature, Yarmouk University, Jordan, 1996. He also obtained a PhD in Philosophy and History, University of Bern, Switzerland, 2007. Furthermore, he published five poetry collections and five books on criticism. He was the Founder and President of many cultural institutions, events and festivals, including the following: The founder and president of the Swiss Arab Cultural Center in 1995 and Al-Mutanabbi International Cultural Festival in Switzerland in 2000, President of Babel House for Cultures, Arts and Media, with two branches in Baghdad and Babylon, 2003; the founder and President of the Babylon Festival for International Cultures and Arts 2010, Chairman of the Culture and Media Committee in the Iraqi Parliament in 2010; and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and President of the Iraqi Media Network 2014-2018.

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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