I chauffeur my silhouette as it seeps from the concrete beneath my feet.
Emotions flux like water and ride up my veins, diluting my sturdiness with self-deceit.
Tears lace over my pillow and bathe my subconscious with rosewater dreams.
Reminders dress up my skin as white blushes into red velvet-colored sheets.
My tongue runs wild on the lengthiest lead, but I hold and I bite on personal business we speak.
Words bloom bitter behind my teeth as thoughts decay gently beside your secrets I never leaked.
Tell me what you please and I'll keep, confidential, everything you fancy.
......
I’ve often wondered who I am
I pondered who gave birth to me
I wondered why you gave me up
I asked if this was meant to be
I wondered why I never knew
That my new mother had replaced you
She gave me love and tender care
Made sacrifices for me each day, each year
......
Tonight, I’d like to take my mother’s hand
Don’t replace my mother
Tomorrow and the day after
I’d want to remember my mother,
Don’t replace my her.
The next day and the following months
I’d like to keep her in my thoughts
......
All you told were lies,
And I hid behind the wall I built while you were telling me how good I made you feel.
All I did was try and please your appetite,
But your ego was droughty and left me for dead with only evaporites.
All we were was just a summertime's fun,
Because we bought into the scam of 'you only live once'.
Of all the cultures there are to experience and all the lessons we have to learn,
......
My dearest dear Be’er
That is what I always called you.
Endearing, to say the least
Although you now cease to exist,
my memories of you will never cease
As in my heart, you live forever
But how I do miss you
More than you could ever know
All that I ever wanted was a better life
For us three
......
I chauffeur my silhouette as it seeps from the concrete beneath my feet.
Emotions flux like water and ride up my veins, diluting my sturdiness with self-deceit.
Tears lace over my pillow and bathe my subconscious with rosewater dreams.
Reminders dress up my skin as white blushes into red velvet-colored sheets.
My tongue runs wild on the lengthiest lead, but I hold and I bite on personal business we speak.
Words bloom bitter behind my teeth as thoughts decay gently beside your secrets I never leaked.
Tell me what you please and I'll keep, confidential, everything you fancy.
......
Dear cherished companion, sweet and true,
Each day I give my thanks to you,
For all the special ways you share,
Your loving presence everywhere.
Such artistry in every shed,
From kitchen floor to cozy bed.
Your fur adorns my morning feast,
Like snowflakes falling, never ceased.
......
You trusted the plant for its beautiful blooms,
But I'm the one who loved its thorns, who faced it's dooms.
You may have nurtured it, but I gave it my life's blood,
I loved it even when surrounded by a vibrant flora's world.
You may not have ignored it, that's true,
But can you protect it from winds wild and new?
You desired the blossoms, I embraced the fall,
......
by TAriq Abdallah Ali /
Translated by Ibtissam Ibrahim
Hidden face
Have you ever seen that hidden face?
his nobility and pride In the features
Has his fragrant sense ever floated your heart?
A kind word, as if it were for the kindness of universe.
Have you seen him?
The one who defies obsessions,
Resilient in the gust of time.
......
I trace the cracks within myself,
yet find none upon you—
Your skin, a barren canvas,
untouched by time or flaw,
While mine, a weathered map,
etched by stares that linger too long.
You label yourself two-faced,
but I only set eyes on one
side of the wall.
......