FALEEHA HASSAN

 

FALEEHA HASSAN

 

New York

 

They do palmistry publicly here

In the streets

Over the terraces

And my hand is jailed in a glove

I stuff it in my coat’s pocket and run.

Since you told me you don’t read messages written by hand,  

My hand streaks its lines.

I forgot to tell you that

It needs a tiny soft touch from you

Not a drop of Vaseline.

In the shadow of the skyscrapers

Longing is worse than cold. 

Workers now repair the streets

 But I keep turning around in the crowd looking

at the features of someone who might look like you.

What if you could come from Najafi now?

Maybe you would help me to cross the street

Or

Be waving to the bus

I saved the warmth of my hand for you

 

 

 For Sure

 

I didn't know that the wind was not the daughter of a king until she stole my shoes

Nor that the meteors belong to Earth until they landed close to my feet

In fact, the July sun endured her heat - in day time - just to leave the freckles of her kisses on my cheek

For sure, I'm the axis of the universe

If it were otherwise, why would the raindrops take off their skin and sink into my palm?

 

 

I’m

 

I used to meet myself every morning at five o’clock

I sit her in front of me

looks into her eyes, and say : 

Faleeha

Don't bother with hateful signs

Watch out for sticky looks

And write

Write a lot

But what is unusual   

Yesterday I felt old

I couldn't move the window curtain

Or answering my phone

Not hold my pen

To write an apology letter to him

I remained petrified in my bed

With dry lips,

I was babbling

And...

Thank God

Yesterday is gone

I'm back to be young

As I was before

Now I'm fixing my bike

Skiing on the water

Dancing with dolphins in Lake Orlando

I booked a ticket for a trip to Mars

And before four o'clock

I will parachute into one of the Maldives

And the rest of the day

I will camp with the moose in the taiga forest

Life is more important than being old all the time!

 

FALEEHA HASSAN

 

FALEEHA HASSAN: She is a poet, teacher, editor, writer, playwriter born in Iraq who now lives in the United States, Faleeha is the first woman to wrote poetry for children in Iraq. She received her master's degree in Arabic literature, and has now published 25 books. Her poems have been translated into English, Turkmen, Indian, French, Italian, German, Kurdish, Spain, Korean, Greek, Serbia, Albanian, Pakistani, Malayalam, Portuguese and ODIA language. She received many awards in Iraq and Middle East for her poetry and short stories. Faleeha Hassan is Pulitzer Prize Nomination 2018, Pushcart Prize 2019, IWA. Winer of the Women of Excellence Inspiration Award from SJ magazine 2020. Winer of Grand Jury Award of the Sahitto International Award for Literature 2021. Cultural Ambassador - Iraq, USA.