Live Encounters Arab Poetry & Writing 16th Anniversary Volume Five
November- December 2025
In the Presence of Rain, poems by Amal Salem.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
Dueling
I am seriously considering
Ridding myself of this deadly reality
Slaughter it
Tear it apart without mercy
No compassion will sway me
For it has swallowed my beloved
That clouded day
After she gulped down the bitterness of my days.
She could not bear it
And it left me with nothing but the trembling of words
And I
Have not grown accustomed to her absence.
I am seriously considering
Opening the doors of hypothetical reality into my veins;
So it may reshape my bones
Rebuild me anew
There
Where no days are recalled
And no bitterness is tasted
For time cowers within a single cloak
And I, inside it
Open it and call out:
Cowering here is the night
Cowering here is the day
Cowering here is the night.
…
And nothing else.
In the Presence of Rain
1
You must remember a rainy day, when you were young
when you counted the reasons to leave your house to play in the rain’s wake
It is beautiful to take your joyful childhood with you
To hold its hand tightly
As you run happily
In the shade of the raindrops!
2
A raindrop is profound
It traveled a long way to reach us
Arriving weary
It arrives… it dies
[Perhaps it realizes that its death is life]
Therefore;
Noble is the raindrop!
3
One night, a single raindrop befriended an entire forest
Every tree made a wish
And every blade of grass held hope.
…
The raindrop perceived the forest’s deepest desire
And so, it shattered!
Ever since that night,
The forest has been a lover, infatuated with the rain.
4
The connection between the showers of rain on my face
And the drops of warm milk rushing from my mother’s breast
Those that miss the path to my mouth and cover my face
Is a strong, deep bond; both remind me of my endless childhood.
My time, from the first downpour to its last,
Is infatuated with the rain;
(For Rain is the face of God
That’s why I open my palms
Catch a droplet
And gaze at it with yearning…)
What need have I for so much primordial instinct?!
5
Perhaps the rain grants me the memory of life
[The onset of rain: an ocean that wanted to ascend for a celestial child playing
heedless of the wet.
The sequence of rain: a sky that decided to stroke the heads of its earthly children Who run beneath the rain and befriend one another under the covenant of water
The pouring of rain: Why did a forest grow, raining senility inside us, so we now Hide in the shade of houses until the rain ends?
The end of the rain: Your chest is an umbrella; for when grief rains down, and the Earth wears the garment of mourning.]
Perhaps I live long just to see it
The rain is my heaven.
© Amal Salem
Amal Salem is an Egyptian poet, short story writer, and critic whose work is published in various Egyptian and Arab periodicals. His published works include the poetry collection Tattered Robes for Dionysus and the short story collections The Nine Muses and The Fourteenth of Brumaire, all issued by major Egyptian cultural institutions, with forthcoming books being the poetry collection Stale Rituals and a very short story collection titled The Book of Metamorphoses.
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.