The people, sullen and forlorn,
Trailed along
Like a jilted lover
Or an oppressed soul
Longing for the dawn. My eclipsed moon was bleak. …
Back in the day, the moon was as a child of mine,
Covered in down feather like a bird. And so was I,
Aimlessly wandering the streets
As the night spread out against the land and I,
Dark, evil,
And oppressive,
As dark as a million soldiers in raven dress
And unsightly boots
Revelling the night away. She holds an MA in Literature and Philosophy from the University of Sussex, a PGCert in Translation and Interpreting from the American University in Cairo, and a BA in Translation from October 6 University. Salma Harland is an Egyptian-born, UK-based translator and academic researcher. She has some published literary translations from and into English and Arabic, including a translation of five selected poems by Sudanese-American poet Safia Elhillo (published in Romman Magazine, 2020). In a blink, I fell from the heavens to Earth,
But the land was also bleak:
Soot blackened the coffeehouses
As radios broadcasted the same old drivel. “May she grow up in your grace and good days.”
She grew up, but not in my embrace;
I lost her in a heedless moment. I found a pencil in my pocket
So I wrote this song of anguish. Oh, moonless night,
As black as kohl without bright eyes. Salah Jahin’s ‘Cigarette Ash’
Salma Harland translates the legendary “Cigarette Ash” («تراب دخان» ) written by the legendary Salah Jahin (1930-1986) in 1967:
Cigarette Ash
By Salah Jahin
Translated by Salma Harland
I found a pencil in my pocket
That has been worn down to the nub. I used to cradle her, then strut across the neighbourhood
And say: “Come and see my dear child.”
“Bless her; she is a good omen!” they would say. …
And here I am, aimlessly wandering the streets
As the night weighs long and dark upon the land and I. …
It was pale, feeble, and adrift,
Buried
Among cigarette ash and peanut skins. Back in the day, she was young, as green and crisp as key lime. I drifted further into the night with a heavy heart
—For the moon had promised to meet me by the Nile
But she left me stranded—
I searched for her in Haram, I searched in Qalaa and Bulaq,
I left no stone unturned in Imbaba and Warraq,
But she was nowhere to be found.