The Anguish of a Poem
by Entesar Hasan
translated by Hatem Al-Shamea
Gently, my love, for your coldness has undone me,
I’ve come to pour out my torment and my sorrow.
My womanhood was freed from the prison of its loneliness,
As the scent of my perfume intoxicated my garments.
You’ve wounded my heart, and who but you can dwell within it?
A tear of sadness has slipped between my lashes.
You closed the window of whispers that once united us,
Distance grew, and you never touched my door.
Tell me why, and unravel the riddle now,
Enough of this estrangement, enough of burning my nerves.
A New Home – Nabila Al-Sheikh – trans. Hatem Al-Shamea
