A Grammar of Longing
Three poems on exile, translated from the Arabic.
Omar Haddad
· 6 min read
These three poems were written across a decade and two countries. What survives translation is not the sound but the silence between the lines — the pause a reader is obliged to fill.
I left the door unlocked for a country that never learned my address. In the morning the light arrives the way a letter arrives: late, and addressed to someone I used to be.
Say the word for home in the language you dream in. Now say it in the language you work in. Notice which one needs an explanation.
There is a room in me with the furniture still covered. I keep meaning to open the shutters. I keep meaning to stay.
- #Poetry
- #Translation
- #Exile
Omar Haddad
Poetry Editor
Poet and translator working between Arabic and English. His third collection explores exile, memory, and the grammar of longing.
Discussion (2)
Comments are moderated. Disagreement is welcome; contempt is not.
Hana Idris
3 days ago
The third pass you describe is exactly what I lost during years of skimming. I've started rereading one essay a week and the difference is real.
Daniel Okoye
1 day ago
I'd push back gently: some difficulty is just poor editing wearing a scholar's coat. The distinction matters.
