Tamim AL-BARGHOUTI
Tamim AL-BARGHOUTI (Palestine) is a poet widely read throughout the Arab world through new and old media. His poetry readings are attended by thousands in stadiums and amphitheaters. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Boston University in 2004. Since 2007, Tamim’s work “Fil Quds” became a household poem in Jerusalem. Palestinian newspapers dubbed him “The Poet of Jerusalem”. During the Egyptian uprising of January 2011, a television recording of Tamim’s lyrical poem “Hanet” was projected in Cairo’s Tahrir Square every couple of hours on makeshift screens, despite the ban on the Internet and regional news channels. Born in Cairo in 1977, Tamim published seven poetry collections in both colloquial and classical Arabic and two academic books on Arab politics and history.
In the Arab world, live
In the Arab world, live
Like a cat that lives under a car
Shoes are all you see of life
In the Arab world, live
Like a circus clown
A clown stands on your head
You stand on the next clown’s
Everyone stands with utmost respect
Serious and very well dressed
In the Arab world, live
Through a football match
That has been going on for a thousand years
Players dash here and there
And the ball always remains
In the hands of the referee
In the Arab world, live
To tell a girl you love her
And, if she loves you back,
she’ll slap you in the face!
In the Arab world, live
To curse the taste of water, falafel,
The coffee-shop and its customers
Your wife and her children
The crowd and the heat in the bus
The tricks of Satan
Being broke
And when you’re asked about all that
You say:
“We thank God
May He keep showering us with His blessings”
In the Arab world, live
Like a school boy
Who has to salute the flag in the school yard every morning
While longing for the street outside
In the Arab world, live
Like a hesitant tear in the eyes of the dignified
Pain exiles you
Dignity holds you back
In the Arab world live
Watching the time
Lest you miss the news on TV
Only to see
How people
In the Arab world, die.
(Translated from Arabic by Tamim Al-Barghouti)
