نجـــوم الغانــــم
Nujoom Alghanem
The Sea and Horizon in a Narrow Passage
The years crowd through narrow passages
The voices linger between the stones
The eras do not take notice of anyone.
Snow fell into the folds of our days
The desert as white as salt
Our voices are birds lost in the distance.
I saw God in my meditation
A hand reaching my heart
And the sound of a stream in my ear.
The stranger gave me a pillow
And a bed of straw
My dreams grew more beautiful.
Another blank page
I wait for you, God
To place verses in my mouth.
When I was drowning
I drank much sea water
That’s how I learned to swim toward life.
The shadows of the buckthorn tree
Battle the wall all day
And the cicadas battle them both at night.
Life is kind
It gave me a generous lime tree
And doves that never part with my terrace.
As water melts into water when
Rain falls into the sea
Clouds hide within clouds when the storm swirls.
I plant my feet into the mud of the lake
The geranium and I stand facing the horizon
Each of us seeking what brings us hope.
The day elapses quickly
The evening grows late
The days are confused by the tricks of time.
One window overlooks the seasons
Birds and airplanes and missiles pass before it
A single window.
White bellflowers fill the field
They grow old and die with their heads bowed
I will read them Isa's poems to raise their heads.
Above the desert plateau
A palm tree sprouts
To remind the distance of the strange visitor, Christo Javacheff.
I separate memories from memories
So as not to blend sorrows with sorrows.
Lest my heart find life unbearable.
A blue feather is on the grass
The sound of the sunbird inhabits the Acacia
These are the first signs of spring.
The rose’s mind is its stem
Its beauty in its petals
Whereas its heart is in its scent.
I love the downpour of rain on the trees and sand and glass
I love when it overflows from alleys
How can you love to see the world drown?
The years hide between our clothes
They overflow from our coffee cups
They multiply when we are distracted.
The island that houses the ocean
Also harbors the dreams of travelers
There I dug a tunnel for my hopes.
I watch it like a policeman faithful to his duties
In the morning I awaken, finding a day that has escaped from the calendar.
Days race with days to steal our lives.
The desert loves running after the wind
It has arrived at our house
We began to float in its hills like sand fish.
Five seasons in this city
Summer hides in each season
And summer is endless.
In the evening I listen to the trembling of the leaves
Like a storm they rush over the asphalt
Shhh, wooo, shhh. What a song.
In the middle of the road
Indecision stands in every direction
Only then do we learn where to go.
In this hour, at the height of the night
I stand before life’s window
Listening to the descent of flower petals from the vase.
Angels speak to each other before they begin anything
So do demons
They all speak volumes.
A single cloud guards the ocean
It dips its feet in the water when no one sees
And rains when no one sees.
I talk to the trees
All day
And dream of them all night.
The tropical white bird with the long tail
Doesn’t fly high nor far from his house
Like your soul, always fearful of changing fates.
A crack in the cloud’s surface
Light streams through it
And so do a small number of wishes.
The seasons change their dates
Summer after autumn
Winter uncertain about whether to return.
Twice fall the dice from life’s hand
When a person is born
And when he dies.
At night we argue over who will fall asleep first
As usual, they deceive me, going to sleep after me and waking before me
These mischievous crows with whom no deal succeeds.
I place the period at the end of this entire journey
After the first day I saw you crossing separation’s road
The story ends.