Live Encounters Arab Poetry & Writing April 2025
Dead Time, poem by Aziz Azrhai.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
Dead Time
1
Take a deep breath
From that laughing cloud
Before it descends into the earth’s pond
Take all your caution
As a form of pleasure
And don’t forget to keep your knives
Shining at night.
Life is a machine of recklessness
And your appearance suggests
A rare hunt.
2
You’ve become so fluid
Boneless.
To this extent
You can still
Be the bridge.
The wagons of the displaced have passed
To where pain ends
And you remain stretched out
Under this mocking sun.
3
Give me your hand
So I can pull you from this tumor
Years have passed,
And you’ve been nurturing the same losses
With a faithful heart.
Years
And no one has tossed a handful of dirt
At your corpse.
4
In a past life
You were the cloud
With more than one hole
In the air
Countless winds and ships
Passed through you
Yet you kept laughing
At the same bullets
With a careless nature.
5
You have the right to be a man of miracles
You also have the right
To sleep in the bed of language
With all your kind mistakes
In the end
You’re the one who will guide the pirates’ dreams
To the fishermen’s spoils.
6
I wish I could place your feet
On a different rhythm
But you’re still frolicking
With the delight of an ostrich
In the pottery museum
Just a beast turning over the soil of the past
With a knife carefully planted
In its back.
7
The blue dose of hope
That you hid
In a black vessel
Is all your ammunition
For dead time.
But now you own a sugar mine
And color blindness.
© Aziz Azrhai
Translated from Arabic by Dr Salwa Gouda. She 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.
Aziz Azrhai (born 1965) is a renowned Moroccan poet and visual artist. He has authored eight poetry collections and has showcased his artwork in numerous exhibitions both within Morocco and internationally. A prominent figure in the literary and artistic community, Azrhai is an active member of the House of Poetry in Morocco and has previously served on its executive board.