Live Encounters Poetry & Writing Volume Six November-December 2024.
Arab Poets & Writers
A rescue attempt, poem by Mohammed Al-Kafrawy.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
A rescue attempt
Tell me, by God,
How many dreams have been run over by the speeding roads?
How many foolish parrots have trampled your dignity for mere amusement?
How many forbidden desires have gnawed at your body in the middle of the night?
Remember with me…
How many stray clouds have betrayed you and rained down on the heads of others,
Leaving you alone, naked, dreaming of the scent of winter?
How many socks do you have in your tattered closet?
How many wilted roses have I plucked from the garden of your days?
How many shadows have clung to your arm as you walked toward your doomed fate?
Tell me and do not be afraid…
Have you ever breathed the air of yoga players?
Do you really know the meaning of pain?
Do you find comfort in the laughter of children and their playful games?
Be honest with me…
Do you know what awaits you tomorrow?
Do you care about time passing or the days remaining?
Are you truly awake?
Do you desire more agony?
Do you count the curses etched on your limbs?
All these years have slipped through your fingers,
And you are confused… alone… miserable… oblivious.
Be honest with me and tell me…
You are humiliated to the bone.
Why then do you want to save the world?
© Mohammed Al-Kafrawy
Mohammed Al-Kafrawy is An Egyptian poet, born in 1978. He has been writing in cultural journalism and literary criticism since 1998. He has four collections of poetry: “A Pink Dream That Raises the Head” (2006), “Shortly After the Dead” (2018), “A Suspicious Place” (2020), and a fourth collection entitled “Scraping Nothingness with His Nails and Giggling,” which is under print at the Egyptian General Book Authority.
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.