Poems

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[We miss you]

^{translated from the Arabic by}^{Abdullah al-Udhari}

We miss you like the earth longing for rain, and without you we have no more books nor revelations.

I wish death had swept us all away before you were buried and mourned.

إنّا فقدناك فقْدَ الأرضِ وابلها
وغابَ مذ غبتَ عنّا الوحيُ والكتبُ
فليتَ قبلَك كان الموتُ صادَفَنا
لما نعيتَ وحالَت دونك الكتبُ

“[We miss you]” by Fatimah bint Muhammad is published in Classical Poems by Arab Women: A Bilingual Anthology by Abdullah al-Udhari (Saqi Books, 1991). Used with the permission of Saqi Books.

More by this poet

[When you were around]

^{translated from the Arabic by}^{Abdullah al-Udhari}

When you were around I used to wander about with you as my wings and shield.

But now I bow even to the meek and palm back those who wrong me.

The dove that recalls its loss on a branch at night triggers my daily grief.

Fatimah bint Muhammad

1991

[The sky turned grey]

^{translated from the Arabic by}^{Abdullah al-Udhari}

The sky turned grey, the sun shot out of sight, leaving a black afternoon.

The Prophet is dead, the earth’s trembling and depressed over his loss.

Fatimah bint Muhammad

1991

[Those who smell the soil]

^{translated from the Arabic by}^{Abdullah al-Udhari}

Those who smell the soil of Ahmad’s grave will have musk–scented breath for the rest of their life, but the catastrophes poured on me could night the day.

ماذا على من شمّ تُربة أحمد أن لا يشمّ مدى الزمانِ غواليا
صُبّت عليّ مصائب لو أنّها صُبّتْ على الأيّام صرن لياليا

Fatimah bint Muhammad

1991

Poems

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[We miss you]

More by this poet

[When you were around]

[The sky turned grey]

[Those who smell the soil]

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