In Memory of My Friend M. Al-Hawaj  

The Book of Time

Brick Lane & Umrah in the Anthropocene

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Wael al-Mahdi
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In Memory of My Friend M. Al-Hawaj  

by Wael al-Mahdi

Our student meals, grilled breasts and coke,
while noon withdrew its sweaty fingers.

The rounds about the artless town
as youth’s bored snake devoured its tail.

I can’t forget our home-bound rides
in hefty coaches headed South;
our stops at fictive borders where
your passport color deems your worth. 

I left, they moved you to the North,
where desolation broke your breath.

But here, we’re always dipping south,
as mother desert halves the sun.

Artwork Courtesy of Reda Khalil

Author

Wael al-Mahdi

Wael al-Mahdi is the Managing Editor of Rowayat’s Issue 10: Borders. He is a poet, translator, and healthcare professional from Bahrain and the recipient of a High Commendation from the Stephen Spender Poetry Prize. His Arabic translations include works by the National Poet of Wales, Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky, the Centennial Scriptures of Won Buddhism, and literature for the 2024 Diriyah Biennale. In recent years, Wael has explored the terminological and thematic impact of Arabic and Persian literature on Islamicate cultures. This exploration has culminated in his forthcoming poetry collection, A Breeze From The East, which showcases Mashriqi English, a novel poetic register that blends the rich Perso-Arabic literary tradition with the full expressive power of Modern English.

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