A poem by Bilal Al Masri, translated from Arabic by Dr. Anba Jawi, MBE, and Dr. Mohamad Haj Mohamad A Story I Like smoke dispersing,words distance themselvesas you and I return to being strangers,just two characters lost in a long story,an endless one, whose sad authoris uncertain which way to turn. II When you are…
Another Birth All my being is a verse of darknessthat will take you, repeating within itselfto the dawn of eternal blossoming and growthsin this verse, I sighed you forthin this verseI bound you to the tree, to the water, to the fire. Life, perhaps,is a long street where a woman holding a basket passes every…
A poem by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, translated from the original Hindi into Arabic by Mohammad Hlmi Rishah and into English by the author. The Day of Doom Let all the leaves in trees catch fire,Cities and villages drown in a deluge. Let all the continents melt awayOn the palms of our hands in no time at…
A poem by Ihor Pavlyuk: The chirping swallows swung in haste And flew across.
I heard the medals clink against His iron cross, And then I gave him the book I wrote. So, there we sat – Two sober men by the endless road, So clear, so sad.
A poem by Matvii Smirnov: They will be old and wise when they are back from the war. Where they had gone was no place for a fine metaphor…
Two poems translated from the Chinese by the poet A Man Carrying a Pane of Glass A man walks carrying a pane of glass on the road with the sharp, rough edge wrapped in newspaper that screens his upper body, thinking himself invisible to others. His upper half appears flat through the glass, making it different from carrying a…
Two poems translated from Portuguese by the poet It Took Me a Long Time to Penetrate this Forest It took me a long time to penetrate this forest—youth knows neither invitation nor prudence.I followed the trailwith innocence in my eyes,with curiosity in my soul,as my body was magnetized.I crossed green cathedralsand gave myself to a…
Two poems by Anatoliy Anatoliy, translated from Ukrainian by Olena O’Lear Look, There’s on the Skyline the Smother Look, there’s on the skyline the smother —but we did not choose it, my brother.The dragon’s dark ages and yearswere forging both shackles and spears;from all the unovercome races,they chose us in their cruel chases.And what will…
.UNTITLED On the eve of her thirty-seventh birthday Virginia Woolfstarted keeping a diarywhich means she was the same age I am nowwith the First World War ending, literature hadn’t saved anyone,perhaps it simply saves- I still don’t knowdetails of everyday life, books read, stories written, war againperhaps in this world there is only writing and…
We Won’t Go Anywhere! What mainly unites uptowns?The smell of cat urine and cigarette smoke.Now — the curfew and new laws:Look closely at your neighbors to see who is false. What now unites the whole of Ukraine?Freedom, the desire for spring and victory,Peace and kindness, despite the injured knees,Broken windows and tired legs. We are…
Bhanusingher Padabali In the dense flower orchard,The sweet symphony of Shyam’s flute carries her away.My friend, come, drowning all fears,all shame, all inhibitions,Come along, and unite with Him. With the beauty and charm of her calm, blue attireShe carries in her heart the bountiful blossoms of loveIn her doe-eyes, she carries an untainted smile,Come along,…
Five Wartime Haikus * Planes roar over the city,the residents pour into the schoolyard.Are we in hell, or do we get a pass this time? над городом ревут самолётыжители высыпали на школьный двор:мы в аду или в этот раз обойдётся? * A long story, unfortunatelythe story of a diseaseof one strange man. долгая история, к…
