Live Encounters Arab Women Poets & Writers June 2025
The Invisible Faces, poem by Chaden Diyab.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
The Invisible Faces
Do not write,
For your poems
Raise voices
From the lofty body
And announce revolutions…
And ring…
The danger bell.
For I claim
To be revolutionary,
But I fear
The bodies of women… So I hide them,
And their freedom… So I smother it.
For I am a democrat, Madam…
I have raised flags
And sharpened claws
To seize your poems…
And I mix the freedom of my desires
With betrayal
To savor
My pleasures….
Do not write,
For I fear
Your words,
And I tremble
Under their judgment,
And I shiver…
At your strength and your tenderness.
Do not write,
For I despise my own softness…
That you draw from my depths,
And the man
I become
For a few moments in our embrace…
Do not write,
For I hate your flowers
That you scatter
On your lips…
And the roses
In the strands of your hair,
And my weakness…
When I touch
Your limbs.
Do not write,
For you would reveal
My secrets,
And you would teach
The crowds my path,
And you would tell humans
And spirits
How to craft love
For stranded souls… on the shores of my civilization.
© Chaden Diyab
Dr Salwa Gouda 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.
Chaden Diyab is a Syrian chemical engineer holding a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Pierre and Marie Curie University in France. She has worked on numerous environmental and technological issues between Europe and the Middle East and has made significant contributions to raising environmental awareness through research and books. Among her works are several poetry collections, including The Soul Player (2022) and Invisible Faces (2023). She has also authored a children’s literature book titled Paris’ Journey in Space, which includes six activity booklets focused on environmental education for children. Additionally, she is the screenwriter for the film Hope, which addresses the issue of Syrian refugee children in the city of Urfa on the Syrian border.