Live Encounters Poetry & Writing September 2024
The first words, poem by Hind Zituni.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
The first words
Are a cry for help that hints at the unknown
The unknown: perhaps it lies in those inscriptions
At the nape of the neck
Or beneath the neck of a black raven
The unknown is like a folded paper
That dances in the air
Before settling on a stranger’s palm
Are our suppressed desires like blood
Flowing from the heart’s core
To fill the depths of longing?
Or are they shadows of bodies
Entwined with other shadows
Simply because the light guided them
To the depths of love
When the moan of darkness fell.
Why does this world repeatedly fall
Into the depths of bitterness
And hide its intentions in the palm of darkness?
Why do all the suns commit suicide
Only to throw themselves into the arms of the rainbow
As if this time
Hunts the fates of the wretched with a malicious glance
And buries the butterflies of joy under the bleeding soil
(Shiva) still
Douses us with cans of colored sorrow
Hurling us with the thorns of fire
It is the hell that blazes in the present
And kills the joy of the seasons
My city
Has turned into the head of Medusa
Every time the beast of the forests violates her
A snake gasps grows in her head
Every time she looks at its beloved
He turns to stone!
© Hind Zituni
Hind Zituni is a Syrian-born poet and novelist currently living in the United States. She specializes in teaching English to non-native speakers and regularly writes literary articles for various newspapers and magazines worldwide. Zituni has published four novels and five poetry collections. She received the Short Story Award in 2020 and the Naji Naaman Award in 2024. Her poetry has been translated into several languages, and she has also translated two books into English: a collaborative poetry collection and a selection of short stories.
Dr. 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.