Revolt Against the Sun

The Selected Poetry of Nazik al-Mala'ika: A Bilingual Reader

Nazik al-Malaʾika, Emily Drumsta, Emily Drumsta

• Publisher: Saqi Books
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780863563522
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Poetry
• Index: Literature

The Iraqi poet Nazik al-Malaika was one of the most important Arab poets of the twentieth century. Over the course of a four-decade career, her contributions to both the theory and the practice of free verse (or taf?ilah ) poetry confirmed her position as a pioneer of Arab modernism. Revolt Against the Sun presents a selection of Nazik al-Malaika's poetry in English for the first time. Bringing together poems from each of her published collections, it traces al-Mala'ika's transformation from a lyrical Romantic poet in the 1940s to a fervently committed Arab nationalist in the 1970s and 1980s. The translations offer both an overview of her life and work, and an insight into the political and social realities in the Arab world in the decades following the Second World War.Featuring a comprehensive historical and critical introduction, this bilingual reader reveals how one woman transformed the landscape of modern Arabic literature and culture in the twentieth century. It is a key resource for students and teachers of Arabic and world literature, as well as for readers interested in discovering an alternative narrative of modern Iraqi culture.

POEMS FROM
SHRAPNEL AND ASH
(1949)

قصائد من
شظايا ورماد
(١٩٤٩)

The Train Passed By

Night’s stillness stretches out into the distance

broken only by doves who, from afar,

coo on, confused, and dogs who bark at ancient stars

as hungry clocks devour our existence.

Out there, in one direction or another

the train passed by

wheels spinning, pleading. I have spent the night

waiting for it and day to come. The train

passed by then disappeared into the dark

behind the far-off hills

a feeble echo in my heart

as I stare at the dreaming stars

imagining the wheels and rows

of tired, sleepless passengers,

imagining the weight of night

on eyelids sick of others’ faces

flickering in faded light,

and silent shadows. I can see

the bitter irritation

in souls that grow more worn with every station,

their luggage waiting, as they must,

like luggage, wait beneath a layer of dust

sleeping a moment, woken by the train

some of them yawning, sleeping, peering out

into the wastelands speeding by

then into others’ weary eyes

faces of strangers gathered by a train.

Almost asleep, they dimly hear

a cranky mumbling in one ear

“My watch is slow! How long has passed?

and when do we arrive?”

His watch chimes three o’clock indifferently

and here the whistle cuts him off

the train conductor’s lantern glows,

and through the night, the station lights

appear, the weary train begins to slow.

One young man sits apart

refusing sleep but sighing still,

awake, surveying stars, his eyes

are edged with worry, cold, his face

red-hued from fever-dreams, his lips

almost apart reveal a dream

imbuing night with rustlings

the quiet melody of wings,

his two eyes almost closed as though

afraid a ray might pierce the lids

revealing some intolerable thing.

This anxious, sad young man

tries everything he can to see

something besides the ancient mystery

the epic story with a thousand parts

its heroes and its language worn and cold

repeating endlessly.

This boy –

now footsteps pass

a frowning face

peers through the glass

the lamp swings in his hand, he sees

faces exhausted, sleeping sitting up

inside the train

expectant eyes

a desperate cry for dawn in every lid

as the conductor’s footsteps fade

into the shadows, stagnant, still.

The train passed through a wasteland and was gone

I stood alone, asking the night

when it would bring my poet back

which train will bring him back to me?

Did the conductor wander through his car

passing his lamp over the passengers

seeing them without seeing, moving on

while I remain here,

waiting for the train?

1948

مر القطار

الليلُ ممتدُّ السكونِ إلى المدَى

لا شيءَ يقطعُهُ سوى صوتٍ بليدْ

لحمامةٍ حَيْرى وكلبٍ ينبَحُ النجمَ البعيدْ

والساعةُ البلهاءُ تلتهم الغدا

وهناك في بعضِ الجهاتْ

مرَّ القطارْ

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