Live Encounters Arab Women Poets & Writers June 2026
No need for the wind, poems Mastoura Mesfr Alorabi.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
No need for the wind
A cloud rains,
and a woman tucks me – a veil of sea spray
under the pillow of memory,
where drowsiness takes over.
I was water before this water.
In thirst, there is confusion.
I blame the old luck
nothing leans but my head,
nothing gets measured but my shadow.
Walking
on a fine string inside the poem.
My drunkenness — a silky melancholy,
my hip — my own grandeur.
Ever since I leaned on the Kurd mode,
I haven’t whispered of those around me.
My white, secret self seduces my own youth.
I read in the book of art
my weakness and my wholeness.
And I, the one who’s hard to pin down in writing:
my grapes have never been tasted,
my baskets never carried.
The cloud resembles me so much
A vague, mad longing takes me over.
I fear nothing except a damp direction.
And from the evening of the soul, I steal
the memory of rain.
Oh God, the nook of the ribs
how do I escape a treacherous silk
that glides between me and myself?
Whenever my mirrors turn, I shiver.
I never betrayed my scent,
but the songs and photographs betrayed me.
© Mastoura Mesfr Alorabi
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.
Mastoura Mesfr Alorabi is a prominent Saudi poet, literary critic, and academic specializing in modern literature and criticism. An influential cultural figure, she co-founded the Professional Literature Society under the Ministry of Culture, chaired the Poetry Platform at the Arab Poetry Academy, and served on cultural committees for major events including Jeddah Book Fair and Okaz Cultural Market. Her poetry has been translated into Spanish and English, featured in international festivals across the Arab world, and included in the Encyclopedia of Arab Women’s Poetry (2021). Her notable publications include poetry collections like “What Confused Me… What I Never Left” (2020) and critical works such as “Meaning-Making in Saudi Poetry” (2020), with her creative and academic contributions being the subject of scholarly studies and the critical book “Revelations of Meaning” analyzing her poetic works.