Hanadi Zarka

Translated by Mona K. Fadel
I usually don't find enough excuses
to wake up
when sun rises
and when evening falls
And since I'm naive just like any girl
living in this city should be,
I've been convinced of the seasons' cycle
of summer
of winter
of spring
It's spring then …..
Marigolds have taken their skins off
so I might see them,
I'm busy ,though
Just like any decent girl should be,
in washing woolen blankets and rugs.
I 've been so late…

So late…
that spring decided
to leap up into my face
like a Jack-in-the-box usually does. just

Confessions

My city is too tight
even for my little brother.
In another city
In another bed
I was a totally different woman.
You were late,
So I quenched the last remaining match of desire
I closed my body's windows.
My little village won't blow
on your dull city anymore,
as it used to do every morning
They know you are in town
Whenever my scent blows
I have changed a lot
Yes ,
I have.
Since I met you,
My eyes have become narrow
And there have been an old wolfish face in the mirror ever since.

What I Own

Women with homes,
husbands,
and kids
I own nothing of those.
I own the dreams of their doors,
their kids' joy,
and …the hopeless looks of their husbands

The Scandal

I saw them sticking to the wall
walking
lowering their high skies
I saw the scandal blowing
demolishing walls
" Scandal is worth of a much more boundless city."


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