Live Encounters Arab Poetry & Writing 16th Anniversary Volume Five
November- December 2025
Thirty Poems for Layla, poems by Walid EL Khachab.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
Thirty Poems for Layla
They killed the ascetic when he cried out:
“Layla is in my cup!”
*
The love of Layla has made me thirst;
In her cup, ten moons have melted.
*
In Layla’s palm, we cast the fates;
She throws them upon the board,
And ten moons smile.
*
A cup in Layla’s hand
Intoxicates the mountains and the valleys.
*
Love is a thirst,
And Layla’s cup is my tyrant.
*
My cup is empty,
While Layla holds the vine and the dates.
*
Love has no direction of prayer
Except Layla’s eyes.
A night leaned over the sands
And was lost…
Thus are Layla’s eyes.
*
You sent forth your hair,
And the desert sands billowed.
The night bears witness, O Layla!
*
Layla, her diadem is a white-starred steed,
It does not dissolve now in the night.
The moon is before the locks upon her parting.
*
Why does the night glimmer
When the moon lowers its gaze
And silver gleams in your hair?
*
Strands of silver in your hair,
Like moons piercing through the nights.
*
Time is Layla,
It passes like lightning,
Ever present.
*
Layla closes her eyes
Like the sky bestowing upon the earth
A fleeting kiss.
*
The silk receded from her neck,
Seas of wheat overflowed.
Layla steps forth by night.
*
The moon hears the fall of your footsteps in the sand.
*
How many voices have bewildered us
From behind a veil,
And led us to the slaughtering places of lovers?
*
O Layla, your eyes are my killer;
Have you kept count of your slain?
*
I love you
Like a lone mountain
Upon which a cloud has gently laid its hand.
*
Every rose in the city thinks of you,
Every cup longs for your coffee,
And every bird soaring
Protects you from the evil eye…
*
Your silence
Has carved a line beside my mouth.
The stone is a heart submerged in silence.
*
Your face,
An infinity sculpted
In a smile.
*
Your smile,
An open embrace
Upon your lips.
*
Serenity
Has sculpted your face
While smiling.
*
Your eyelash
Sealed history
Before my gaze could return to me.
*
And your brows spread
Like a seagull
Approaching the sun.
*
The full moon has risen upon us
For meeting or for farewell…?
*
The moon was dazzled
When your eyelash fluttered.
*
A glance from you
Is like a bowstring
Heard by the gazelle, unseen,
Until its chest is dyed with blood.
*
Ten suns have passed,
Ten ages have turned,
And your eyes are two roses of fire
Forever.
© Walid EL Khachab
Walid EL Khachab is an Egyptian poet, critic, and academic at Canada’s York University. The author of more than three poetry collections and several critical books, he has maintained a strong connection to the Arab world’s cultural life despite his academic career abroad. He actively promotes the presence of Arab creative voices within Canada and internationally.
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.