Live Encounters Arab Poetry & Writing April 2025
Now we see you, poems by Hassan Najmi.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
Now we see you
To Asiya Alwadie, the last of mothers
Suddenly—you have moved to another dwelling
On the left bank of the night
The mirror no longer reflects your face
Are there black mirrors that reflect faces?
Your face that gazed into the clouds of estrangement
The face of innocence, translucent as a beam of light
You who touched the wall of the guards
So that every wounded soul, limping through the earth, could lean on it
How many times I saw the little birds quench their thirst from your palm!
And now I see your final body fluttering like a glimmer
And from the abundance of love and orphanhood you stored—
The tribes divided your heart
And because you preferred the shade, we seldom saw your white hands
And here you are, dying so that we may see you.
Take me
Take me to the nearest night
I want the windows, delayed by insomnia, not to see me
Take me to war (there must be some war in the corners).
I want to be an unknown soldier
Cloaked in failure, gifted with the inability to find solutions
Take me to the slightest madness
To experience absence
Perhaps it is closer to me than my sobriety!
I left my identification papers in the realm of reason
I stretch my fingers to my face to touch the mask of the unknown
I am the other who stumbles in my steps at the shadows of the fence
And in the dead words
I walk, afraid to step on the shadow of the person I once was.
Take me to my absence
Take me to myself
How often has my other face become more radiant than my own!
© Hassan Najmi
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.
Hassan Najmi (born 1960 in Ibn Ahmed, Settat Province) is a distinguished Moroccan poet, author, and journalist. He served as the President of the Union of Writers of Morocco from 1998 to 2005 and was the former head of the House of Poetry in Morocco. Additionally, he holds the position of President at the Moroccan Center for the International PEN Club and serves as the Secretary General of the Argana Prize for Poetry.
Najmi played a pivotal role in establishing the House of Poetry in Morocco in December 1995, alongside a group of fellow Moroccan poets. He was elected as its vice-president and spokesperson, contributing significantly to the promotion of poetry and literary culture in Morocco.
His literary achievements have been recognized with numerous Arab and international awards, and his works have been translated into more than ten languages, reaching a global audience. Beyond his own writing, Najmi has also translated the poetic works of several renowned world poets into Arabic.