Sinan Antoon

Translated by Sinan Antoon

Sinan Antoon (Arabic: سنان أنطون), is an Iraqi poet, novelist, scholar, and literary translator. He has been described as "one of the most acclaimed authors of the Arab world. He is an associate professor at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University

When I am lost

her eyes

guide me

from below

The silence

in her house

is deeper

than a forest

The world

around us

is a sea

(Humans have not been created)

There is a nocturnal bird

in the garden

Its monotonous singing

accompanies our descent

from one abyss

to the next

A Note From a Traveler

When I saw

death performing its ablutions in the fountain

People around me crossing the streets in their sleep

It seemed that my dreams were

pyramids of sand

crumbling before my eyes

I saw my day fleeing

in the opposite direction

far away from that cursed city. . . 

We choose the beginning

But the end chooses us

And there is no road

except the road

Dimensions

The musician is in his corner

Gently embracing his oud, as if listening

to a pregnant belly

His fingers torture the strings

The dancer’s body is utterly seized

under the lights

Bending in the fourth dimension

Where no tickets are sold

We, the spectators, stay here with our chairs

The stage is empty